Harvest Season

Living in an area where Forbes Magazine has yet again declared as the richest county in all the Land with median household incomes of $110,643; many local residents may be unaware of the agricultural history that Loudoun County is based on. Long before the Ferrari & Maserati of Washington dealership on Route 28 and the endless visual sea of luxurious apartments, condos, townhouses, single-family homes, office parks and retail buildings; eastern Loudoun was mostly vacant farmland. Now that fields and combines have been replaced by asphalt and gas-guzzling SUVs, many are oblivious that October marks the beginning of harvest season. However, before man can harvest; a seed must first be sown. 

   This basic seed principle (aka Law of Sowing and Reaping) has been in operation since God commanded in Genesis 1:11-12, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth; and it was so.  And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind.”

    If there’s one thing my rural Culpeper, Va. upbringing has taught me is that the primary purpose of any seed is propagation.  Barring consumption, God simply intended for each of His seeds to grow to maturity and bear fruit.  Therefore, one of the most important questions we must ask ourselves is what kinds of seed are sown in our lives so we will not be surprised by the fruit they bear. On the Day of Pentecost, God’s seed fell on those who believed in the Gospel of Christ and received Him as their Lord and Savior. Even today, this incorruptible seed is planted in our spirit which communicates to the mind and body.  Thus, triune body, mind & spirit beings are we.  This incorruptible set of instructions is a seed of truth that cannot accept the lies and negativity we attempt to feed our bodies and subconscious minds. This seed needs to be fed with the Word and nurtured with obedience.

   In the beginning of all beginnings, God created man out of dust to be in perfect alignment with Him. The body was submissive to the mind (soul); and the mind was submissive to the spirit.  However, after Eve was beguiled by the greatest slickster the world has ever known, the wheels of humanity collapsed and mankind was sentenced to a life of strife and turmoil. Man’s usurpation of God’s intended order caused the mind to become submissive to the body and the spirit simply slipped into an eternal abyss until the day of Pentecost. Unfortunately, many still remain in this darkness while cursing those who see the light.

      Upon emerging from a self-imposed realm of darkness and shedding an amazing 50 gluttonous lbs of fat, in just four months; I was able to force my 46-yr-old body into the best physical, mental & spiritual shape ever. This transformation resulted in an anointing to write my first book and being an ardent practitioner of the sowing and reaping philosophy, I sat down at my computer to begin writing Body, Mind & Spirit: The Awakening at the beginning of a fertile sowing season which began on April 1^st, 2010. Glory be to God, just seven months later (seven is the Biblical number of completion) on Oct 1^st,2010; I had my first speaking engagement on improving body, mind & spirit and was able to sell the very first fruit of this life-changing guide!  All of this came to pass because I truly believed and nurtured the seed God had placed in my soul. Are you making the most of the precious seeds (gifts) He has given you? If not, please know that we sometimes have to be willing to run towards the things that are holding us back–not away from them.

   But let’s be clear. Just as those who have accepted Christ carry His incorruptible seed; we also carry the same corruptible seed Satan was able to sow into the psyche of all mankind when Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Even today as many of us sit comfortably in our $110,643 median income Loudoun County homes reading these very words–the two seeds are battling within for your eternal soul. Which seed are you nurturing? Which seed are you attempting to extract from the root? If we give into gluttony and are fighting a losing “weight loss” battle, the corruptible seed is winning.  If we can’t find a way to quiet our chaotic minds then the corruptible seed is winning. If we can’t remember the last time our entire family worshipped together then once again; the corruptible seed is winning.

   However, as long as we are still on this side of Zion it’s not too late.  Beginning now, I urge you to pray for strength and begin nurturing the incorruptible seed within. We already have everything we need to put things back on the right path and now it’s simply a matter of giving dominion of our lives to God. In Matthew 17:20 Jesus said, ”…if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible.” Do you have faith? Can you move mountains? I submit that before we are fully empowered to move mountains we must first be willing to be moved by the Word.

Finally, amidst the various pumpkin patches that have sprung-up around the County and the little ghouls and goblins that will be ringing your doorbell at the end of the month; let us not forget that it is indeed harvest season. Therefore, I pray that you will today begin to sow seeds of change in your life so that our future generations can view the County not only as a place of material wealth but more importantly, spiritual wealth. We simply can no longer remain comfortable at the foot of the hill when God has called Loudoun County to harvest at the top of the mountain.

About the Author: James Hackley attends Holy & Whole Life Changing Ministries International, in Lansdowne, Va. and his latest book, Body, Mind & Spirit: The Awakening ;can be purchased by visiting him at www.jameshackley.com or www.Amazon.com .