A Tree Planted by the Water

 

 

Psalms 1

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night

.3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

We love hiking to waterfalls and walking along the tree-lined rivers. Though I didn't take this photo we saw something similar just a short distance up the trail from the nature center at Table Rock State Park in SC.  Walking along trails is a good place to contemplate the words of scripture. It's where we can better understand the word pictures the Lord is using to help us see our relationship with Him and others.

Take a look at Psalms 1. Verse 3 speaks of the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord. He is like a tree planted by the water. Now look back at the picture. What can we notice?

• There is a constant flow of water to sustain the trees
•  Some of the trees are along the edge and some are farther back.
• Those along the edge are constantly drinking from the flowing water.

Like trees, if we draw close to the Living Water, we can constantly be refreshed and grow. 

What does a growing tree do? Our verse says it bears fruit and its leaf doesn't wither. 

• Fruit from a well-watered tree is plump and juicy, delectable.
• Juicy fruit makes it desirable to be picked.
• There is no dry spell for the leaves to wither. It's always appealing.
• An appealing tree draws people to it for the shade and the fruit.

How are we as Christians providing a place of rest for the weary, sin-sick world? Are our actions showing the fruits of kindness, peace, and joy?

 

The tree by the water prospers.

• It grows, bears fruit. 
• It's noticed. 
• It's desirable.

 As the saying goes, Apples don't fall far from the tree. The fruit we bear will desire to be planted by the Water as well. Our testimony to the world can fill the whole earth with the knowledge of the Lord (Habbakuk 2:14)

Heavenly Father, Help us stay close to your word, to thrive on it, bearing spiritual fruit that makes the gospel desirable. Help us make a difference. Give us the vision of revival to fill the whole earth with the knowledge of the Lord. In Jesus's name. Amen

Hey Kids:

Have you thought about how to thrive on the Living Water of God's word?

Do you have a plan to memorize God's word?

Here's an idea to help you hide God's word in your heart.

• Ask mom or dad for post it notes or index cards
• Copy down your favorite verse or passage
• Place the note or card in a place you'll see it every day - on a mirror on the front of your notebook
• Read the verse at least 3 times each day. 

How much of the verse can you say without looking? In a few days or at the end of the week add another verse. Psalms 1 might be a good place to start. 

Things Dad Taught Us

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. ~Ephesians 6:4 NKJV

Teaching has been my profession for about thirty years but whether we get paid or not we are all teachers. We teach our children how to be our mini-me. We are proud to see our children improve on who we are as they grow up. Though he wasn't a teacher by profession, my dad intentionally taught me and my two brothers. 

My dad taught us how to be a part of a family:

• how to catch a ball with a glove and throw a curve ball
• how to tie on a leed and bait a hook
• how to shoot a gun and hunt
• how to skin the game we shot: "If you kill it, you eat it." 

These were things that made us part of the Wofford family. Things his dad had taught him and his dad before. Skills the family had always passed down.

My dad was a hands-on type of guy. He built a workshop and tore down motors under shade trees. We were always a part of those activities whether we wanted to be or not. Those types of things taught us skills as well.

• how to use a hammer to drive nails in and pull them out
• the relationship of fractions by handing him tools
• doing math in our heads
• adding figures from left to right in a column

My dad loved to sit on the porch at night and tell family stories.

• how his grandpa shot a panther off the roof of the house by the light of the moon.
• how he himself shot a mad-dog to keep children playing in the yard from being bitten.
• how his grandpa accidentally shot himself and came to Jesus
• how thirty years later Dad knew his grandpa had been saved like the thief on the cross

My dad loved music though he would often say the only thing he played was the radio.

• he had favorite country songs and had visited the Grand Ol' Opry
• he recited poems he learned in school like Two Dead Boys. 
• he sang kids' songs like There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
• his favorite hymn was I'm a Child of the King.

 My dad never finished high school but you wouldn't know it. He read hunting and fishing magazines, the newspaper, and his Bible. He taught us to read by example.

• we read the scriptures together as a family every night.
• we got down on our knees as a family and prayed together every night.
• we saw his personal study time and he often shared his discoveries with us.

God gave us dads as physical pictures of what our heavenly Father is like. He likes to show us how to be part of his family by trusting in His Son as our Savior. Then he teaches us to be fishers of men. Hunters of the lost sheep and how to deal with life when it throws us a curve ball. 

God shows us how to build his kingdom by using the tools of witnessing and going into all the world and making disciples. He shows us that he will add to the kingdom those that want to be saved.

God will remind us of his history of faithfulness with the stories of Daniel in the lions' den, Moses in the wilderness, and David the conquering king.

God puts a song in our hearts, the memory verses from Psalms, the songs of our childhood like Jesus Loves Me, the songs in our hymnals, and the worship songs that ramble in our minds day and night to remind us of God's love and faithfulness.

Now it's our turn to train up our children in the way they should go, reading scripture with them as a family every night. Praying together as a family and sharing those things we have discovered in our personal study time. 

Father, may we carefully and thoughtfully train our children, not purposefully provoking them to be angry but lovingly showing them your way. Showing our children that they were created for a purpose that only they can fulfill with the Lord's help.  In Jesus's name. Amen.

Hey Kids:

Today is a special day to honor our dads but it doesn't just have to be today. We are to honor our parents every day by obeying them. The Bible says this is well-pleasing to the Lord. 

Do you have special memories or times spent with your dad? 

What are the ways you can honor your dad today? Here are a few hints.

• Make a card with a picture of something you like to do with dad.
• Fix a special dessert with mom's help.
• Thank him for something he has taught you.
• Sometimes just a smile and a handshake that turns into a hug mean more than anything else.

 

Trying Something Different

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. ~ II Timothy 2:15 NIV

I was ready to try something different. I had read the Bible through several times but I felt like most of the time I was reading the words without hearing what I was reading. I felt as though I was reading a chapter just to say I had read a chapter for the day. What was I missing? Then I saw a post by a cousin. He was demonstrating how a Sunday School group was using a method of journaling to help them better understand and apply the scriptures. Hmm. Maybe I need to give this a try. At least it wouldn't be the same thing over and over expecting different results (see last week's blog).

I bought a pretty journal, spiral bound with pretty flowers and lined pages. I found gel pens I liked. Now it was time to get down to business. I needed to choose a book. The Sunday School class was working through the book of St. John. The instructions were to pray and read the chapter letting the Lord speak to you, pointing out a particular verse. I don't remember what the verse was. I don't have the journal since it was several years ago but this was the best possible change I could have made. I had to pay attention to what I read to find the verse. I copied the scripture and labeled it with an S for Scripture. 

The next instruction was to summarize what I observed about the verse. What was the scene, the characters, and why was the verse given? So I wrote my observation beside an O for Observation.

Now to understand why this verse had jumped out at me. How did it apply to me and my life? This was a little more difficult. Some verses are convicting but more often the verse is one to encourage and lift me up. So I wrote an A for Application and discovered why the verse was mine. I needed lifting up. Life can beat you down. 

Now the last part. Prayer - a prayer to thank God for what He had shown me. How He was encouraging me. How He was calling me to draw closer to Him. After writing P for Prayer and writing down what I prayed in my heart, I felt encouraged, lifted up, ready to face a new day with a new vision. Of course, in a day or two, I wanted to go back to my old habit but to create a new habit I had to press on. I became fascinated with the things I was learning that in over forty years of regular Bible study and church attendance I had never seen. How had I missed so much? This trying a new thing was really working.

Let me encourage you to try the S.O.A.P. method. I usually get the whole devotion on one page and it usually doesn't take any longer than the time I spend drinking my cup of coffee. 

Heavenly Father, help us be willing to try something different. We all love going on adventures to new places. Help us realize You want to take us on a new adventure through your word. In Jesus's name. Amen. 

Hey Kids:

Maybe you'd like a new adventure with Jesus as well. Ask Mom and Dad to start a family Bible study.

May I suggest starting with Genesis. If you can't read yet, be sure to listen closely. In the first chapter before anyone shares, draw a picture of your favorite day. (Parents even if the picture is just scribbles with a red crayon, let it be their journal and share its meaning.) 

You older kids may want to draw and write. 

Once everyone has a chance to journal, share your favorite part of the first day. 

Encourage one another in the Lord. 

Pray about what the Lord is teaching you. 

Most importantly, enjoy this time with your family and with the Lord. 

Through the Fire

And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.Zechariah 13:9 (emphasis mine) KJV 

Last fall forest fires burned through our mountains. The sky was a gray haze and we smelled smoke for days. Animals running from the fires showed up in neighborhoods and other unusual places. Finally the rains came and helped the firemen get the fires under control. 

This spring the grass is growing back. Flowers are awakening on the charred forest floor. Little sprouts that would never have seen the light of day are coming up through the humus and ash. Damaged trees are being used by the wildlife for homes. The forest is coming back to life more beautiful than ever.  

Our family has been through some "fires" this year as well. Serious health issues loomed over us like gray smoke. Broken homes have torn hearts apart and looked as if they would burn families down. Like the animals in the forest, we wanted to run away, but where? To God! We called on His name and He heard us. God has healed the cancer victim, the broken bones and is healing the hearts of broken homes. I've seen the ones most hurt give God the glory for the all He has brought them through, making them stronger, better Christians than ever before.  

We serve a mighty God. When the fires and the storms of life come. Run to God. Call on His name. He may refine us, but He will hear us and we will say, "The Lord is my God." 

Hey Kids: 

Last week I challenged you to look for things in nature damaged by fire or storms. 

How has the storms and fires changed their purpose?  

This week think about the challenges and trials you and your family or friends are going through or have already been through.  

How did you or are you meeting the trials? 

How is God using these trials to strengthen you and your family in your Christian walk? 

Please share your testimonies so that God receives the glory. 

Blessings, 

Gail