Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
Memory of the Month: Psalm 33:4
4 For the word of the Lord is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
Today's reading: AMOS 1-3 REVELATION 6
Good Growth
The rancher said, "No, don't take all the cedars down, with the way we are losing the oaks, we may not have anything left but cedar". This juniper, aka-cedar, is a plague to this hill country. They use 35 gallons of water a day-twice as much as a similar sized live oak. The ashe juniper pops its nasty dust in cold weather and thousands and thousands get 'cedar fever' and it can get really bad for some. Then, a national coffee chain, that starts and ends with 's' has put a sprig of juniper in a special coffee for the holidays-in cold weather-genius.
The more cedar, the less water. Water is life. I have cleared cedar and seen the springs on a ranch start to run water overnight after being dry for years.
God puts glaring examples before us if we just look. Rivers of living water are to run from us. But if we let the cedar, sin, choke out the water, well, water is life.
John 7:38 ►Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them."
I went to a ranch a week ago where the cedars had been removed and down in the 'hollers', the springs were running clean, fresh water-the way God intended. Good maintenance means running water. Then I went to another place where years before there had been a great view-the cedars had been left to grow and were blocking the view. It takes less time than you think.
Good maintenance-what does that mean to you in your life? To me, it means keeping the trash trees out and it is hard to do if I am not diligent.
All of us are to be diligent.
Proverbs 13:4 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.
Galatians 6:9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
God never, ever, gives up on us. He is patient in His tender mercies.
Whatever it is, push it down, pile it and burn it-deal with it in front of God so the water will flow.
James 1:15 ►Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death
Time to get busy.
...because He loves us...
Father in Heaven,
Forgive me for letting the little stuff start to take root. Give me a desire for the living waters to flow from me by Your power. Thank you Lord.
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