5-28-2018

Good Morning All,

        Psalm 52:8; “But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever”.

    Flourishing- to grow luxuriantly or be fresh and green.  We have had a couple of very hot and windy days, perhaps 20 degrees above normal.  If we get a few more of these days over the next week or two and if we receive little measurable rain, flourishing is not something we will be speaking about.  Yet flourishing is exactly what we are to be in our lives.

    Scripture often compares us to trees or other plants.  There is always a very star comparison as well.  The plants that live in God’s Word and trust in him are green, luxuriant plants.  These plants produce abundant fruit.  The plants that do not live in God’s Word are dead, cut off and burned.  This is a very clear description; you only have to look at a dead plant and compare it to a healthy plant to see this.  So we are a plant and we have a choice.

     We can live our life on our own battling the elements that seek to hurt us and cause us pain.  The devil sends all sorts of struggles our way.  We can battle the sadness that we face.  We can defiantly claim that we will pull our self up by our own bootstraps and accomplish everything by our own might.  However, we will only end up as a dried up wilted plant.  The heat and the scorching wind that the devil sends is punishing to us.  Self-doubt, self-pity, self-loathing are all part of his arsenal designed to dry us up.  It works and when true trouble comes to us; we will blow away in the wind.

     We can live in God’s grace; it is freely given to us.  We only have to trust in his mercy.  The devil will blow his scorching blasts but God’s free gift of love can sustain us and keep us flourishing even in the fieriest of cataclysms.  God nourishes us with his Word and his Sacraments and he comforts and consoles us with his loving arms.  He uses everyday people to bring this hope into our life.  He uses our spouse or children, parents, friends, ministers, or other believers to comfort and console us.

     When we trust in His wonderful grace and mercy, we live luxuriantly in his house, in his loving kingdom.  He gives us the hope that tomorrow will be better and if not this tomorrow then the next one.  He gives us the hope to survive.  He gives us the certainty of his love that enables us to withstand the scorching heat and the intense drought.  God’s grace provides the necessary nourishment to stand tall and produce the abundant fruit of his Spirit.

Dear Father, the heat and the winds of life cause us to wither but your grace sustains us.  In your love you carry us through the hard and difficult moments of our life.  Continue to feed us and to nourish us with your tremendous mercy.  By your grace we flourish.  Be with those who find life extremely difficult and whose struggles are great.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret