Showing posts with label seed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seed. Show all posts

Friday 25 January 2013

Tu B’Shvat, the holiday of the trees

If the did not celebrate it Wednesday evening and Thursday, Jews around the world will celebrate the holiday of u B’Shevat, Tu Bishvat, or Tu B’Shvat (15th of the Hebrew month of Shevat) tonight.And people wondered why we should celebrate the holiday of the tree.almond blossom

The almond trees in Israel begin to shake blossoms out along their branches.
Across the globe this month Jewish communities are celebrating the holiday of Tu B’Shvat.  Many choose to commemorate the “New Year of The Trees” by planting pine trees in Israel.  Tu B’Shvat is a day that deals directly with the social inequality of our food system.  It’s a holiday that can inspire us to think about the free Gifts Jehovah God provides for humanity and it gives us the chance to think about His blessings and how we should use those blessings. This year you perhaps could also think about building community food security.


Savyon from the land of Israel
Savyon from the land of Israel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
When we look around us we can see very beautiful things in nature, though many do not notice them any more.God has created the plants and given the task to the people to name them and to take care of them. God promised that all the plants would be for the good of people and would offer food for men and animal. And normally all of the seed bearing trees would bring forth fruits free for all people. Though people made it that humans had to pay for it.

"And Elohim said, “See, I have given you every plant that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed, to you it is for food." (Beréshith - Genesis - Book of the Beginning 1:29 The Scriptures 1998+)

Also in Europe and North America the inhabitants can look forward to the new time coming soon. In Belgium from tomorrow Saturday the temperatures will rise, but we can notice already the sap in thee shrubs begining once again to flow through it.  The trees are ready to bring out green knobs and to let the Voice of the Most High sound through their branches. If you look carefully around you you will see heralding
the New Year for trees. The melting snow shall provide moisture for the trees and the sap will bring forth fruit in the spring. It is the day to pray for a beautiful esrog. The custom for Jews is to eat fruits in order to be able to say the blessings on the fruits on this day. הדר עץ פרי, a fruit of splendor, is gematria העץ פרי ברא, [Blessed are you Hashem] who created the fruit of the tree (they both equal 659). Have in mind to ask Elohim Hashem Jehovah for a gorgeous esrog when saying this blessing.

In the Mishnah, where Tu B’Shvat is found, the purpose of the holiday is to make a single day in which our produce is taxed and given to the community. It’s based from a single line of Torah: “At the end of three years you shall bring forth all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall lay it up inside your gates; And the Levite, because he has no part nor inheritance with you, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are inside your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied.“ (Debarim - Deuteronomy 14:28).

The Torah also says that "man is a tree in the field."We should come forth from good seed and bring forth good fruits.When we bring none, not enough or no good fruits we would be of no use.

God has plated the seed in Abraham to make Him a people. And God His Wishes shall always come true. So out of Aḇraham shall come forth the fruit of a blessed people because יהוה {Jehovah}appeared to him  and said, “I am the Elohim of your father Aḇraham. Do not fear, for I am with you, and shall bless you and increase your seed for My servant Aḇraham’s sake.”.(Beréshith - Genesis - Book of the Beginning 26: 23-24)
The Creator told His chosen people how He was to be called and that His Name and Works should be known all over the world. Those Works we can still see every day, because Jehovah God did not end Creating.


In the Land of Israel, several people are already happily celebrating Tu B’Shvat, the holiday of the trees. School children sing songs praising the Land of Israel and thanking Hashem for its fruits. Bus loads of students and families go on field trips throughout the country, and saplings are planted with great joy and spirit. And a festive meal of thanksgiving, highlighted by a cornucopia of fruits of the Land, will grace our tables on Shabbat.

  writes about this special day and looks at Eretz Yisrael. According to him without Israel the Torah is a shrunken, truncated, mini-version of the complete Torah of Eretz Yisrael. Two-thirds of the Mishna deals with laws that can only be performed in Israel. Without Eretz Yisrael, God Himself is reduced to a second-string diety, seemingly not strong enough to keep His Chosen People in the Land He gave them, for there is no greater desecration of the Name of God than when the Jewish People are scattered in exile amongst the goyim (Ezekiel, 36:20). Without Eretz Yisrael, there is no prophecy, no Beit HaMikdash, and the Divine Presence doesn’t appear in the world.

Kaliv Hasidim celebrating Tu B'Shvat in Jerusalem.
Kaliv Hasidim celebrating Tu B'Shvat in Jerusalem.
Photo Credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90
The hunger in our cities resonates because everywhere we can see more poverty. We do not have to go far away form our own dinner-table to see the food crisis which is also a spiritual crisis. On this Tu B’Shvat, let’s reinvigorate the holiday’s original purpose, by doing our part to make hunger relief healthier, more respectful and more in line with our shared values.
Those who are fortunate to have an abundance of produce year-round could perhaps take time to think of those in need and provide for them.
Tu B’Shvat is an opportunity to more closely examine hunger and how to respond most effectively to ensure that hungry people have access to nutritious, healthy foods.

Read:

What’s the Point of Celebrating Tu B’Shvat in Exile?

Celebrate Tu B’Shevat, the New Year of the Trees

 
Fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables (Photo credit: nutrilover)


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Wednesday 22 December 2010

Apple of Gods eye

“For  thus saith Jehovah of hosts: After glory hath he sent me unto the  nations which plundered you; for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple  of his eye.”(Zechariah 2:8 ASV)

God has revealed himself to the world in ways that we can understand.  He has given us His Word in which He also shows His concern about the  Jews – God’s people and the ‘apple of his eye’ (Zechariah 2:8).

God chose Israel as a nation to show forth his glory:
“For  thou art a holy people unto Jehovah thy God: Jehovah thy God hath  chosen thee to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples  that are upon the face of the earth.” (Deuteronomy 7:6 ASV)

God said that the Jews are the evidence of his existence:
“Ye  are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and my servant whom I have chosen;  that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me  there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.” (Isaiah 43:10  ASV)
Genesis chapter 12. God made promises to  Abraham, the first Jew – that  he would have descendants (the Jews), a  land (Israel), that because of  him not just they but the whole world  would be blessed. Jehovah  made further promises to Abraham's ancestors ,   Isaac and Jacob.

Much  later, in Galatians 3 verse 16, we learn  that these promises also refer  to Jesus Christ: “To Abraham and his  seed were the promises made,” and  that seed (descendant) is Jesus.The  covenant later  opened out to include people of all races who are  faithful (Galatians  3:28-29;  Psalm 103:17-18; Psalm 50:16-23).

There  are prophecies about the nation that are yet to be fulfilled. All  the  indications are that they will be fulfilled soon. (Read Zechariah   chapters 12 and 13.)

Read more about it in:

Sunday 14 March 2010

Sow and harvests in the garden of your heart


"The heart is our garden,
and along with each action there is an intention that is planted like a seed.
We can use a sharp knife to cut someone,
and if our intention is to do harm, we will be a murderer.
We can perform an almost identical action,
but if we are a surgeon, the intention is to heal and save a life.
The action is the same, yet depending on its purpose or intention,
it can be either a terrible act or a compassionate act."
- Jack Kornfield

"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:
* When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it,
the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.
This is the seed sown along the path.

* The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.
But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time.
When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.

* The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns
is the man who hears the word,
but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it,
making it unfruitful.

* But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil
is the man who hears the word and understands it.
He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

Matthew 13:18-23

Dear God, let me produce a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.



Dutch version / Nederlandse versie > Zaai en oogst in de tuin van uw hart

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Friday 3 April 2009

Bearing fruit


“However, the seed sown in good soil–this is the person who hears the message and understands and actually is productive: one person a hundred times, another person sixty times, and another thirty times.”” (Mt 13:23 MHM)
“Therefore, produce fruitage worthy of repentance.” (Mt 3:8 MHM)
“For no good tree produces bad fruitage. Nor does a bad tree produce good fruitage. Every tree is known by its fruitage. Does anyone ever gather figs from thorn-bushes? Or, grapes from thorn-bushes?” (Lu 6:43-44 MHM)
“Every branch in me not bearing fruit He removes, and everyone bearing fruit He prunes so that it may bear more fruit.” (Joh 15:2 MHM)
“If ever anyone does not remain in me, he is to be thrown outside and then burned up.” (Joh 15:6 MHM)
“Just so, conviction without works is dead by itself.” (Jas 2:17 MHM)
“O hollow person, are you unwilling to realize that conviction without works is fruitless.” (Jas 2:20 MHM)
“Therefore, just as the body without breath is dead, so also, conviction without works is dead.” (Jas 2:26 MHM)
“My brothers, what is the profit if anyone says, “I have conviction, ”but does not have works? Is just his conviction able to save him?”
(Jas 2:14 MHM)


Dutch version / Nederlands >
English: Fruit stall in a market in Barcelona,...
 Fruit stall in a market in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Vrucht dragen
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You cannot change anything in your life with intention alone



"You cannot change anything in your life with intention alone,
which can become a watered-down, occasional hope
that you'll get to tomorrow.
Intention without action is useless."
- Caroline Myss

"Without action, without decision,
you remain in possibility,
which is safe and beautiful but eventually enervating and boring."
- Jennifer Louden

"In the same way, faith by itself,
if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
James 2:17

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action,
keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely
on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
1 Peter 1:13

"I will waste not even a precious second today in
anger or hate or jealousy or selfishness.
I know that the seeds I sow I will harvest,
because every action, good or bad,
is always followed by an equal reaction.
I will plant only good seeds this day."
- Og Mandino


"When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it,
evil comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.
This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.

The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places,
this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary,
and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.

And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns,
this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world
and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil,
this is the man who hears the word and understands it;
who indeed bears fruit and brings forth,
some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."
Matthew 13:19-23

God, let me of the many intentions that I have,
fulfil those that suit in your plan.
Give that your word may work loose the right things in me
and make me grow in faith.
That my actions will bear fruit and will bring me up to you.
That I ask you in Jesus' name.


English: Looking along the narrow path formed ...
Looking along the narrow path formed between two rows of (Zea mays) in a field in . The maize is normally sown in regular rows by a planter towed by a tractor. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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Saturday 14 March 2009

Picking Stones

English: A Pile Of Stones These stones were re...
A Pile Of Stones These stones were removed from the field whilst preparing the soil for planting potatoes. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Picking Stones

March 14, 2009

By Randy Mantik

Ah, spring. It's wonderful to see things green up. One of the things that signaled the arrival of spring for our family when I was growing up on the farm was an annual ritual we carried out in the fields before planting called 'picking stones.' Ugh! For the uninitiated, picking stones is when you go through the field and pick up and cart off all the stones that have pushed their way up through the soil during the winter.

The first few times I did it, I thought, 'One of these years, we're going to get rid of every single stone and never have to do it again.' But, alas, when spring came the next year there was a fresh crop of stones.

In Matthew 13:1-23, Jesus talks about people's hearts, comparing their receptiveness to the message of the gospel to the soil. The soil of the heart doesn't have to be hard and unworkable. It can be softened.

Jesus says the seed sometimes falls on rocky ground. The soil appears to be good, yet it¹s shallow. The seed goes in and seems to take root, but there¹s not enough depth to maintain life. The plant dies off when the sun burns hot and things get hard because there are no strong roots.

Everyone faces the 'sun of circumstances' on their lives. Sometimes the rays are feeble and hardly felt; other times you suffer from a serious sunburn. A feeble ray might be when your car is in the shop or the washer breaks. A heat wave, when your child is diagnosed with cancer or the company you work for downsized you right out of a job. You name it, life can throw it at you.

However, what determines whether we grow in the heat of our situation or simply wither away is the depth and workability of our soil. How healthy are our spiritual roots? Are we diligently picking the rocks out of our hearts' soil.

What's life's sun doing to you? As someone said, "The same sun that hardens clay softens butter." When we allow the Word to soak into the hard, rocky places of our heart, wonderful things begin to happen. There is death to self. And then there is life. Let the Holy Spirit help you pick some stones from your heart today.
‹ Randy Mantik is lead pastor at CrossPoint AG in Portage, Wis.

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