I drove by my old house a few days ago, and in the yard was a tree I planted 20 years ago. When I planted it, it was about four feet high and a couple feet across. Now it is 20 feet high and spreads about 10 feet in each direction.

Psalm 92 uses the growth of a tree as a metaphor for the life of a believer, it says in verses 12-15, “But the godly shall flourish like palm trees and grow tall as the cedars of Lebanon, for they are transplanted into the Lord’s own garden and are under his personal care. Even in old age they will still produce fruit and be vital and green. This honors the Lord and exhibits his faithful care. He is my shelter. There is nothing but goodness in him!”

When we submit ourselves to God and honor him, he transplants us into his garden, and promises to care for and shelter us.

Dear Lord, thank you for the knowledge that if we honor and submit to you, you will care for us and make us flourish. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Jesus meets a man named Nicodemus, who is a Pharisee, one of the smart/educated men of his time, and tells him he must be “born again” to enter the kingdom of heaven. Nicodemus replies, “How are these things possible?” Then Jesus says to him John 3:8, ”The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

Jesus then said, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things?

I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things?” John 3:10-12

Aren’t we like Nicodemus on many occasions. Though we all know there are many mysteries in our world, we often will reject the things we do not understand. However, it is the things God tells us that we don’t understand that are the critical things to accept. Things like, Grace, Eternal Life, the Holy Spirit’s work in people, how God answers prayer, and the many miracles that occur in our world.

A book I recently read says it like this, “Failure is a blessing when it forces one to depend less upon material forces and more upon spiritual forces.” This made me stop and think that this is how God would have us live. We should depend more on God’s power than the material things we can understand.

Dear Lord, We tend to think that we must know how things work in order to accept them. But you teach us that we must put our trust and faith in something we do not understand, which is your power and love. Help us make this shift. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

One of the amazing blessings we have living in modern times in the developed world is how little time it really takes working to provide for our basic needs. Prior to the industrial revolution, most people spent long hours 6 days per week just to have shelter and enough food. In modern times, full time work is 40 of the 168 hours we have in each week. Removing 8 hours per day, for sleeping, leaves 72 hours to do what we want, or an average of over 10 hours per day.

In the democratic world, we have very few limitations on what we do with this time. This is a wonderful situation for people that control themselves, but as is written in the Living Bible version of Proverbs 16:27, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop;” We must put our freedom to good use.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:23, “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive.”

Just because something is our right, or is legal in the eyes of men, really doesn’t have any significance with God. We need to look for God’s will, and fill our free time with activities that Glorify God, show love to our neighbor, and make us more effective Christians. If we don’t, we will be at risk of being pulled into things that may be our right, but are not “beneficial” or “constructive” as Paul puts it.

Dear Lord, we thank you for the incredible possibilities that exist in our lives. You have put us in an amazing time with access to things even Kings and Queens of the past could not have dreamed. Help us and remind us to use these blessings for your glory. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Some people say that reading books written by successful people is like having that person as a mentor. Although you cannot have a conversation with them, you can learn a great deal by reading the ideas that they took the time to assemble. Based on this, reading Proverbs is like having Solomon, who was granted great wisdom by God, as a mentor.

I particularly like the clarity and applicability of Chapter 27 to our modern lives. Verse 21 is something to consider, “Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised.”

Hopefully we all will have the opportunity to be congratulated and applauded for doing something excellent. When it happens, it is our opportunity to pass the test and humbly say “thank you”, and also share the credit with others who helped. This test is like other tests we are given in life, but feels much better than dealing with a tragedy or failure. It may not be as easy as it may appear. Being praised regularly easily can become a burden for some people to maintain their humility. Remember this is another blessing from God that can be used to bring him glory and not just inflate our egos.

Dear Lord, thank you for the wisdom of Solomon, recorded for our benefit in the book of Proverbs. Help us use it to improve our lives to be of better service to you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

One of the difficult things to understand about God is why he lets terrible things happen to people. We see it around us and in the news; What appear to us to be senseless tragedies.

We can read in Romans 9:17, “For the scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the world.” So God made Pharaoh to be the oppressor of the Jews in order to show his power.

Another story in John 9:1-3, Jesus came across a man who had been blind since birth, He was asked, who sinned the man or his parents, Jesus said, “neither, he was born blind so that God’s power could be demonstrated.” then Jesus healed him.

We cannot know why God allows the tragedies we see to happen, and most importantly, we are in no position to evaluate God based on them. God doesn’t measure whether things are good or bad based upon, our measures, or how they affect our lives here on earth. Paul writes in Romans 9:20, “Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?”

Whether we experience good or bad, or see joy or tragedy, does not change how we should approach God. Our responsibility is to believe in his power, trust his love, and submit ourselves to him. What is most important is that we know we have already been saved, eternally.

Dear Lord, your ways are higher than we can understand. Help us trust that all things are working according to your plan, and nothing can separate us from your love. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.