Sowing Seeds....Good Post by Rick Warren

I get a great devotional delivered to my email daily from Rick Warren. This was today's....loved the post so I thought I'd share it with everyone who stumbles upon my blog.....enjoy :)

Giving is Spiritual Investment, not Expense by Rick Warren

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 2 Corinthians 9:6 (NIV) "No farmer considers sowing seeds an expense. He sees it as an investment." God often compares giving to sowing seeds. Like a farmer, if you go out and sow a bunch of seeds, you'll get a bunch of plants. If you only sow a few seeds, you'll only get a few plants. And if you sow no seeds, you'll get no plants. No farmer considers sowing seeds an expense. He sees it as an investment. He knows that if you don't buy seed, you won't have a farm. When a farmer plants seeds, he's excited about it; he's hopeful about it. He has faith because he puts one corn seed in the ground and expects to get a whole corn stalk full of more seed than he put in. He looks forward to the harvest because he knows he's going to be blessed. Here are three things the Bible says about sowing and reaping: Whatever you sow, you are going to reap. If you sow criticism, people are going to criticize you. If you sow gossip, people are going to gossip about you. Whatever you sow in life, you are going to reap it back. Count on it. The good news is, this works in positive terms too. Give it to God and watch his blessings flow onto others and back to you. You will reap more than you sow every time. A farmer who plants one kernel in the ground will get a stalk with eight or nine ears that have 100 to 200 corn kernels each. You always reap in a different season than you sowed. You sow in one season and then you reap the benefit in another season. You can go plant a seed today, dig it up tomorrow, and there will be no difference. But if you let it settle, slowly it will grow and produce. That's the faith portion of the waiting period in God's economy. How big a harvest do you want to see in your life? It's up to you. God says, "According to your faith will it be done to you" (Matthew 9:29 NIV).