SEEDS

“And God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds”.  And God saw that it was good.  And there was evening, and there was morning, the third day.

Genesis 1:11-13

Seeds amaze me.  I hold a tiny tomato seed in my hand and know that when I plant this seed it will grow into a tomato plant and will eventually produce lovely red tomatoes.  That is amazing enough to me; but then I hold a pepper seed in my hand that looks just like the tomato seed, but when I plant this seed it will grow into a pepper plant and will eventually produce lovely green peppers.  The seeds look identical to me but of course they aren’t. 

Within each tomato seed the tomato plant and fruit is already there, just waiting to be put into the ground and do its transformation into a living plant.  Within each pepper seed the pepper plant and fruit is already there, just waiting to be put into the ground and do its transformation into a living plant.

How did the seed become what it is, the full potential of the plant it would become, “each according to its kind”?  This amazes me.

Then I move to the amazing thing above all amazing things to me.  When the egg from a woman and a sperm from a man connect, that becomes like a human seed that has within it all that a human being will be, right then, right there; just waiting to grow in the mother’s womb into the infant that will be born.  This amazes me beyond all amazement.

I think about these things, these amazing things, and I cannot help from welling up with awe at a God who does this kind of creative work with such love and care for the littlest detail.  This is the God I want to be in relationship with.  I can read all the books, go to all the schools and seminaries, listen to all the talented teachers and preachers and fill my head with all the knowledge, but none of that touches my heart the way looking at a little seed and planting it in the ground does.  It amazes me, and then He amazes me by wanting to love and know me and plants the seed of His Spirit within me to grow into His child.

SIMPLY BE WHAT I WAS CREATED TO BE

There are times when I come to a place of confusion when I try and be a witness to my Faith.  I do not want to appear arrogant enough to think that I am right and so many others are wrong, but these days that is how it feels to me.  I have followed Jesus and walked with God intentionally now for over forty years.  I know what works and what doesn’t work for me.  But I am living in a world that significantly changed the worldview that I have been living with and they think I need to change with them.  I am unwilling to do that, even if others whom I love and respect do.  I find myself feeling abandoned by many that I love and respect, who have walked this walk with me for many years, but who now greatly differ from what I believe.  This has caused me pain and confusion at times, but now I feel I have reached a place of peace.

I know WHO I believe in even if WHAT I believe in is not clear to me at the moment.  If I believe that God is my one true Source and is in absolute control of all of my circumstances, then I can stand back from those things I am unclear about when dealing with other people.  I know for sure what He has told me about my life and that is sufficient enough for me.  I can witness to my experience and God’s intervention in my life with absolute clarity.  Maybe that is all I can and should feel responsible for.

When I look at my trees that is what they do.  They simply live as God created them to live and do what God created them to do.   They don’t try and defend themselves.  They don’t try and force me to be a tree.  They don’t form opinions about me or try and reform me.  They simply BE God’s creation and witness His power and glory.  When I look at all of God’s creation that is what I see and stand in awe of…God and His ways.  Spoken without words but clearly stated.  That is a goal that is worthy to pursue.

PROMISE OF THE PRESENCE

“The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,

which shines brighter and brighter until full day.”

Proverbs 4:18

I have fond memories of my life at the beach.  In the morning I would walk down to the water and wait for the sunrise.  I loved sitting in the darkness of predawn and watching the dark clouds on night yield to the coming light of day.  The seagulls would begin to arise, calling to one another to gather together on the shore.  That would be the first sound that would fill my ears.  Then I would watch the darkness leave and the bright colors of red and yellow fill the sky.  Finally the red glow and then the tip of the sun would show itself.  Slowly the tip rose and the big ball of light would appear to rise on the horizon out of the sea.  As it rose higher its light would completely fill the sky and a beam from that light would make its way to where I was sitting.  Then the day would begin.

Every morning since the beginning of time this is how it has been.  Nothing can change it, stop it, add to it, or subtract from it.  It is God’s Promise to the world of His great and abundant faithfulness.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

His mercies never come to an end;

They are new every morning;

Great is His faithfulness.”

God reveals Himself everyday, bringing light to the darkness, revealing the Path I am to follow.  The more I watch and wait, the more I know and understand His Ways.  He has not put me here without a Promise of His Presence and He seals that Promise with every Sunrise.

Someday there will be no need of the sun.  Someday the Promise will be fulfilled.  The light of the world will only rise once and the glory of God will shine forth forever.  The light of the Lamb of God will be all we need, that we might walk in the way of righteousness forever.

MARANATHA

COME LORD JESUS, COME

Rooted In God & In God's Ways

I am rooted in who God has made me to be.  I find my delight in God and in His Ways.  I spend my time, day and night, pondering His Law, meditating on His love and His words.  I have become like the tree that grows outside my window and I watch for the lessons that it teaches.

My tree stands strong and silent.  It is just what it is meant to be.  It does just what it is meant to do.  It silently helps maintain life on earth.  It provides food and gives shelter to many of God’s little critters.  It provides beauty for those who take the time to look at it.  It doesn’t try to correct bad behavior; it doesn’t try to convert people to be a tree; it doesn’t sit and plan wicked and evil things nor does it try to stop them.  It simply stands there, being what it is and doing what it was meant to do.

My tree silently, without words, testifies to God’s invisible attributes, God’s eternal power, and God’s divine nature.  It provides and maintains life for all living things and gives me a sense of awe in the workings of God. It gives me a sense of peace in the knowledge of God’s Presence here on earth.  When I am faithful to who God made me to be and what God created me to do, I will yield my fruit and I will prosper.

God will see to the wicked ways that are in the world.  They have no rooting in God’s creation.  They, like chaff, will be driven away by the wind and will vanish from this world.

Sitting In Silence & Stillness: Useful Not Busy

The world is a busy place these days.  The churches are busy places these days.  I am not busy these days, mostly because of a body that can’t be running around doing this and that.  So I watch and remember my days of working and ministering to others. 

There was always so much to do, so many needs to be met, so many people who needed only moments of time.  But those moments mounted in number and I remember reaching the point of exhaustion more than once.

As I sit and watch others running around at top speed, developing multitudes of new programs to meet all of the needs of folks around them, I have to wonder, is keeping busy keeping others busy the tact that Jesus had in mind for His Church.  What I see and hear is a lot of busy people who use that busyness to curb the loneliness they feel inside.  Keeping people busy, having programs that meet every conceivable need is a tact the world sails on.  Always changing, always progressing, always on the move resulting in people who have no time to sit still and reflect on anything meaningful or soulful; this can’t be what God had in mind for His people.  One look at nature would confirm that He had more than being busy in mind for all of His creation.

In today’s world not being busy equates into not being useful.  That is a lie and it is a lie that God’s people should be exposing, not engaged in.  Being useful without being busy is the lesson my trees outside my window teach me as we sit in silence and stillness each other’s company and simply BE with one another.