Greetings,

Seasons of His Love

Seasons.....
while we desire the eternal springtime with fresh fragrant blooms of love, there must be a desiring for the ripened fruit, which must go through the season of dryness and heat.

We have all experienced one sort of dryness or another... one sort of drought or another.... one time or another when the pressure seemed too much for us to handle.

Likewise, looking at a winter's day.... coldness... dead looking trees... wind and rain..... isolation and emptiness... perhaps a loneliness on the plains, waiting for the snow to ease long enough to escape the chill of lifeless and dark days.

But, ah! The springtime of eternal bloom.... how we desire a constant delight of fresh fragrant flowers.. fields of life where-ever we turn.... new life abounding... birds a chirping, singing songs of redemption from the winter gloom....
Yes... how many of us have sought after those days in our lives when the sun shines warmly and cheers our soul... lifting our praise for all things good, we once again adore the Lord for all that He has made.... grass that's green on both sides of the hedge ... even the byways along the highways seem enough adorned with green hues of spring growth.... rainbows filling our skies.. and hopes blossoming like the flowers upon the trees....

Ah, yes.. how we long for such beauty everyday.... springtime is one time we might wish that would never go away

But what of the Seasons of His Love.... yea... sent to us from God above...

do we long for all He sends?
Shall we rejoice in the summer heat... where too much more will begin to burn.... where grasses turn yellow.. then surely brown after an ongoing time of long weary days... no escape from the oppressive heat..... no let up, athirst we begin to complain..... O Lord...send us your rain... send us the coolness of your breeze.... O Lord... deliver us from so much that only seems to burn our souls... O Lord, O Lord .....

But, the Seasons of His Love.... they are not yet complete.... nay, we find come fall, or autumn is that's how you speak.... how as the streams have finally appeared to run totally dry.. deserted by the stretching of such trials of heat.... the one who seek the Lord will see.... a season prepared and perfected to bear much fruit.

So, why do I say all this?

My beloved brothers and sisters,

we all desire to bear much fruit.... or so we should... and not sour nor bitter fruit at that, but just as the Spirit explains in the Holy Word, fruit fit only for our King, for His fine table adorned with grace with mercy as His seats, for all to dine who will accept His call... yea fruit fit only for the Holiest One who is perfection pure... ah yes, Lord Jesus Christ, beloved, sovereign and supreme... almighty truth and everlasting love all flowing from His heart to you... yes, fruit fit only for the table of our King.

So, what are these things that we must endure.. for He tells us and His Word is true... what are the qualities that will only come from the Seasons of His Love?

Daily we can rise with praise on our lips... or worries and pains from the night before....

Behold He knocks and stands at the door.....

will we ask Him to enter to soothe our heart and mind, to caress our soul with all troubles we find, replacing the fears with His Holy joy and love, setting us free to fly like the dove....

Ah for the seasons of His eternal love... O how we long to be helped from above...

yes. we call to Him daily to send us and fill us, to make us just like Him anew... we ask that we can be used to exalt His holy name.. to grow in grace to the fullness of His character... yes, we say we will follow, we say we want to be more like Him, we say we want more of His love... and to love Him so tenderly, love Him so true..... does this sound like the request He hears from you?

So what of the fruit we wish to bear?

Hungry children athirst for so much more?

Behold, He stands and knocks at the door....

When the seasons of His eternal love come to us to ripen the fruit we desire... why is it then we so easily tire?

Let us now look at His fruit... for only as we are grafted in Him can we bear the fruit... any resemblance of our King.

In the very first Psalm we read....

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

We also see in Psalm 104:10-13 He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.
They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild ***** quench their thirst.
By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.
He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works. and I include this here because so often we liken the seasons ot trial and pain to the valleys... and claim that is why we suffer so... but let us remember, the valleys they flow.... with rich blessing of Love.. of His thirst quenching life.

Now the fruit we desire to bear for our King... it is nothing like what we will see in this world, no, it is not tainted with rust and corruption, but heavenly, remember.... fit for our King....

I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.
My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.
I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:
That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.
Proverbs 8:17-21

In Galatians 5:22-25, we read.... But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

and we are reminded, or told, in Hebrews 12:11-13 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

Now looking again at the Holiness that is drawn out in and from us, by the working of the Spirit, we see the marks, the evidence, the qualities we desire as we long so much to serve our King.... love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.

Take a few minutes and examine these.... and look also at the opposites of each of these qualities.... and decide here and now which one you would prefer... for I can assure you that our dear and faithful Lord Jesus Christ desires for you to be filled with all righteousness in Him by His Spirit, bearing only His holy and unreproachable fruit of His everlasting love.

Now, look again at these love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.... and consider just how it is possible to ever ... and I mean ever, bear the fruit as we see it here, how is it possible if we do not at first encounter the very trials, the very pains, the very troubles from this world and those caught up in it, which at times can be even ourselves if we walk in the darkness of evil counsel, being from others or by the deception of our fleshy minds.. and even can be troubles from others who we walk daily with, seeking to serve the Lord in all His glory, who like us may have slipped into a false way of walking, displaying their faith only with their talking.

Yes, we must therefore come to the Lord expecting the purifying fire of His Spirit to come upon us and purge out all the old and decaying ways that we once walked in, that we might by His mercy and grace come forth as puified, bearing fruit fit only for Him.

Oh Lord Jesus,
show us your truth, let us know your counsel as we look unto you for our help, open our eyes to see your desire for us to shine brighter than the purest fine gold and help us to see your loving hand everyday in all we find throughout our lives, and Lord, please remind us often for so it seems to be that we need so often to hear that our lives here are so short and temporal, and though we are in this world, Lord that as we are in you, the world and it's snares set to catch our ransomed souls is powerless against your everlasting and holy love....amen

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

1Peter 1:3-9

Bless you ....><>

Br. Bear

Ezekiel 34:27

And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.

Jeremiah 17:8

For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

<>< We have in Christ Jesus a storehouse of His love and care. ><>

You cant grow up without growing down... the world sings higher higher...but the Word says deeper deeper...

'He looks like he`s got it going on when it comes to this Christ-life (hes listening to all the talk about this life, hes speaking all kinds of talk about this life, he`s soaking up the sun, and drinking up the rain, and stomping all over the field like he`s the boss of this life) but since he doesn't have any roots, he lasts for only a short time. When the cold north winds start blowing he keels over ...'
(Coconuts paraphrase) Mat_13:21

(I`m editing my rambling thoughts so they will flow better with your message.)

I think God has shown me that we are all that person I mentioned above. Or maybe I am that person...but who can say they did not have a stony heart when God found them. Who is capable of replacing their own heart with a good heart? I think with loving kindness and tenderness God draws us to Himself, He painstakingly causes our roots to grow, drawing those first fragile roots ever downward to His springs of life giving water ...maybe the times comes when He must hide the sun and stops the rains so we will dig deeper...maybe He seems to withdraw just a little out of our reach to cause us to reach for Him...

All I know for sure is He draws us into each season of His love - with great love and care...it is none of our doing...it is all Him.



This being the counseling thread, I want to add...

To the young seedlings, and the old branches, and to all those shooting every which way in between...Christ only left all of us with ONE thing to do:

Watch and Pray



Each one of us is "a planting of the Lord" (Isa_61:3)
Only God can "cause us to grow" (1Co_3:7)

What else then is within your power to do besides watch Him at work...while you pray?

(I`m not talking about works here, as the Spirit bids you toil in His field, as He supplies you with seeds, you must patiently work at sowing and watering ...as long as you understand what part is His work, and what is yours. The seed belongs to Him, and seeing to it that it grows, how fast it grows, and what it grows into, is His work alone.)



I fear how oft we interfere with the work the Spirit is doing within our our own lives, and the lives of those around us with a multitude of words...weeds...human effort...impatient forcing of our will upon the plant...or attempting to 'shelter' the plant from the difficult growth seasons it needs to go through...and we become the "enemy" that Jesus spoke of to the work His Spirit is doing. (Mat 13:28)



That being said, good sirs, I am quite done!

Perhaps this doesn't belong here but I must share it.......it describes my life so perfectly

I have been young
But I am older now
And there has been beauty
That these eyes have seen
But it was in the night
Through the storms of my life
Oh, that's where God proved
His love to me

From "The Anchor Holds" by Ray Boltz