BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

The Season of Giving and Harvesting! by Kellie Copeland Swisher "It's the most wonderful time of the year." For many, myself included, hearing that phrase almost immediately causes one to think of Christmas. And why not? After all, a Christmas song by that very title has been a seasonal staple ever since it was recorded and released in 1963 by the late pop singer Andy Williams for his first Christmas album, The Andy Williams Christmas Album. Over the years, that song has brought lots of joy to many hearts. However, depending on your own personal outlook, you could replace the word wonderful with any number of words. For example, words like busy, hectic, expensive, stressful, joyous, loving or peaceful. You fill in the blank. One word that describes this time of year to me is giving. The season of “giving” is upon us! I love that part of Christmas. I believe I get more joy out of the giving part of Christmas than I do the receiving part. You probably do as well. So much so, in fact, that we may not even think about the harvest, or return, from our Christmas giving. That’s odd for me when, as a believer and a year-round giver, I am accustomed to giving on purpose and believing for my harvest, yet I know I have done that very thing. Jesus spoke to us about giving in Luke 6:38. He said: “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” A Hundredfold Return—NOW! Mark 10:29-30 says, “And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.” A hundredfold! Now, that’s a harvest! You plant your seed, believe the words God has spoken and you harvest a return! In fact, Jesus tells us in Mark 4:26-29 that all the kingdom of God is like seedtime and harvest. This is an important concept for God’s people to understand and walk in! You may be thinking, 'I know all this. I have heard it many times.' Well, we all have. But we can stand to hear it again! And again! And again! The Bible tells us that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17), so we can’t hear it too many times. In this season of the year, I want to encourage you to HARVEST! How many Christmases have gone by in which we have given, but because it is the “season” for giving, we forgot to receive our harvest? Too many, when, in fact, as you are sowing in “season” you should be especially mindful of harvesting! 20 : BVOV : DEC '13

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