IDOK DEVOTION FOR TUESDAY, JUNE 1, 2010
Praise Reports, Prayer Requests and Updates:
Mabel asked us to pray for Marsha Kinsler, she suffered a fall and has a tail broken bone. I understand this can be very painful.
Some days ago a beloved grandson and his sister were visiting at the Thompson homestead and a little yard (fun) work was going on. Some bushes and branches were being pruned and a hopeful young man ‘planted’ one of those green, freshly severed twigs in the back yard. And today I took this picture.
Now this twig several days ago looked very much alive. It was green and supple, the picture of life. And this twig had a lot going for it when it was ‘planted’. It had soil. It had water. It had sun. It lacked one thing and that one thing was of all things most crucial. Nourishment. It had nothing to tie it to the source of tree life – sap. So with no sap the twig was zapped!
I can think of at least two analogies for us in this. JESUS said He is the Vine and we are the branches — that is we are the branches when we are GRAFTED into Him. And until we are grafted into Him, we are as dead as our pictured twig even if we LOOK alive. There is a world of humans walking around that LOOK alive. And physically they are but spiritually they are as dead as, you guessed it, our subject twig. Only when these dear souls repent and believe that JESUS is willingly and able to GRAFT them into Himself will they become spiritually alive.
How’s this for speaking to us?
Romans 11: 17If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.
And then there’s the root analogy. The twig had no ROOTS, no tap-root, no fibrous roots. Without fibrous roots it could not take in nutrients provided by the soil and water and without a tap-root it had no anchor — it’s dead. (For more science on roots click here.) Now, how does this apply to you and me? Just for purposes here lets say our tap-root is GOD. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit and The WORD is our anchor – the very source of life. And from the tap-root come fibrous roots. We need fibrous roots. Even though the tap-root is the anchor of the plant, fibrous roots help too in establishing a plant in its place and they help feed and nourish the plant. As a Christian what would be our fibrous roots? The main fibrous root right there adjacent to the tap root – what could that be? How about church – a local Body of Christian Believers where we gather for food and strength?
Hebrews 10:25 (New International Version)25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
And as a plant has many, many fibrous roots, we need many connections to others in the Body of Christ. Allow me to give some suggestions in addition to the main fibrous root – Church membership.
Regular Sunday School attendance (called Bible Study these days), Sunday night worship, Wednesday night prayer meeting (choir rehearsal for me), tithing and giving, daily Bible reading and checking in with DADDY time, intercessory prayer, prayer partners, group Bible studies other than Sunday School, some accountability partners – people we trust to pray with us and keep our hurts and struggles confidential, people we have holy fun with – socializing, reading good books that reflect the principles of God’s Word, music that feeds our spirit, physical exercise, creative hobbies, continuing education, political awareness, community involvement — perhaps you can think of others. Without these ‘fibrous roots’ we will not be healthy Christians!
To review the list of names for prayer, please click here.
A few days have passed, ABBA, since meeting here to pray with our IDOKs and Readers, Memorial Day celebrations are coming to a close and we are looking forward to Tuesday’s dawn in just a few hours. Summer vacation is on for teachers and students, VBS(s) will be getting started around the area and we are so grateful for people willing to give time, resources and love to area children. I pray You will bless these efforts and the participants. I pray JESUS will be exalted and young lives will be changed forever as they hear and believe Your Gospel. Thank You for the words we heard today as we gave thanks for Veterans and thank You for this community in which I am blessed to live. I pray You will be honored here even more. I pray, Holy Spirit, You will raise up a group of Christian Believers who You will anoint to minister Your Gospel and help communities and people all over this nation. We pray for our IDOK Troops, for their safety and protection and for their soon returns home. We pray for the peace and safety of Israel. And I pray You will take this message and minister it to us individually with individual instructions on how You want us to honor You and help us in JESUS NAME. And we pray for each name recorded on our list, particularly Marsha, asking that You bring healing to her body and that she will draw strength and wisdom from You. We pray for each other, we pray for courage and wisdom to help each other grow in faith and obedience for JESUS sake. And, Holy Spirit, I pray You will encourage and people will get up and get out to vote for those You have impressed upon us. Amen and amen.
