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Friday,
March
26,
2021
"The
Tree Rings Of Spiritual Growth"
Message
summary: Just as the rings on a tree prove
its endurance in the years of ease and years of
difficulty, our enduring faith proves our walk
with God to be genuine and mature, not lacking in
godly character. We grow as we faithfully serve
Him during times of ease and during times of
trial.
Listen
to this message on your audio player.
“Now for this very
reason also, applying all diligence, in your
faith supply moral excellence, and in your
moral excellence, knowledge, and in your
knowledge, self-control, and in your
self-control, perseverance, and in your
perseverance, godliness, and in your
godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your
brotherly kindness, love. For if these
qualities are yours and are increasing, they
render you neither useless nor unfruitful in
the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For he who lacks these qualities is blind or
short-sighted, having forgotten his
purification from his former sins.
Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent
to make certain about His calling and choosing
you; for as long as you practice these things,
you will never stumble; for in this way the
entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly
supplied to you" (2 Peter 1:5-11).
As
we have mentioned to regular readers many trees
have been removed on the farmland property across
from our home. Most of them weren't suitable for
lumber but were used for firewood and then the
brush was placed in large piles and burned. The
stumps were placed in holes to be buried.
Several
large trees directly across from our home are
laying on the ground and awaiting the log truck.
We show the largest in our lead photo and if you
want to view the rings up close and count them see
this photo of another tree.
Several
of the trees were rotting from the inside out.
Although they may have looked healthy their inner
condition made them more prone to falling during a
wind storm. That's a lesson on the deceptiveness
of presenting an attractive outward appearance
while neglecting a healthy inward life.
When
we lived in New England we enjoyed visiting the
Museum of Science in Boston. Among the many
displays is a sliced section of a huge Sequoia
tree from California that had been cut down in
the 1950’s. Scientists had determined the age of
the tree by the number of annual rings to be
2,000 years meaning that this tree had been
living since before the birth of our Lord! A
small detail shows how they can determine years
of drought and years of plenty by the size of
the rings. A magnifying glass enlarged the
rings, so the difference was quite obvious.
As
Brooksyne and I looked at this impressive
display she observed that in both the years of
difficulty and the years of plenty, the tree had
still grown, but at a different rate.
Let us consider a way in which we may measure spiritual growth in our own life. In contrast to the tree our most measurable years of growth and maturity are often a result of enduring and overcoming difficulties of various kinds; the dry periods and fiery storms of life, if you will.
Let us consider a way in which we may measure spiritual growth in our own life. In contrast to the tree our most measurable years of growth and maturity are often a result of enduring and overcoming difficulties of various kinds; the dry periods and fiery storms of life, if you will.
Our
daily text challenges us; "applying all
diligence, in your faith supply moral
excellence, and in your moral excellence,
knowledge, and in your knowledge,
self-control, and in your self-control,
perseverance, and in your perseverance,
godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly
kindness, and in your brotherly kindness,
love".
We
might see these like tree rings of spiritual
growth. Peter further indicates that "if
these qualities are yours and are increasing,
they render you neither useless nor unfruitful
in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ"
(2 Peter 1:8).
Just as the rings on a tree prove its endurance in the years of ease and years of difficulty, our enduring faith proves our walk with God to be genuine and mature, not lacking in godly character. We grow as we faithfully serve Him during times of ease and during times of trial.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Just as the rings on a tree prove its endurance in the years of ease and years of difficulty, our enduring faith proves our walk with God to be genuine and mature, not lacking in godly character. We grow as we faithfully serve Him during times of ease and during times of trial.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, we pray that You will help us
to grow in Your grace and knowledge, that we will
continue to mature in our Christian walk. Scripture,
repeatedly, indicates that spiritual maturity is a
result of enduring trials of various kinds. In the
midst of these trials Your soft prompting or
guidance through Scripture, through other believers
and through life circumstances can be easily ignored
when self gets in the way. Today we make every
effort to add to our faith those characteristics
that will sustain and grow us in our Christian walk.
In doing so we will be effective and productive in
the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, during times
of ease but even more so during times of difficulty.
Keep us faithful and keep us growing, in the name of
Jesus we pray. Amen.Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental
Resources
Our
very good friends, Jim and Dottie Schmidt,
joined us for breakfast yesterday at the
Casey Jones Restaurant in Ronks/Strasburg.
After
breakfast we visited with the Lapps at Old
Windmill Farm where their pasture adjoins
the Red Caboose Motel/Casey Jones
Restaurant.
A
big Tom Turkey that serenades us along with
other turkeys as we visit outdoors at the
Old Windmill Farm.
Yesterday,
anticipating another season of riding, we
both purchased new bikes. We had looked last
year but bikes were in major shortage. Due
to joint and dexterity issues we both got
the step through design. When we were
younger these were called "girl's bikes" but
now they market them as step-through design
and they are considered appropriate for both
men and women! We are both finding it harder
to get on and off the bike the way we did
when we were younger. Late in the afternoon
we tested them out with a river trail ride
from Marietta down to Columbia, PA. A sudden
downpour drenched us as we were coming back,
not the ideal weather for biking!
We
rode into Columbia and passed this stately
historic home near the river.
Hinkle's
Ice Cream Parlor in Columbia, PA
Hinkle's
Pharmacy was a very popular spot for years
in Columbia since it was also a very busy
hometown restaurant "where everybody knows
your name." When news spread of the pharmacy
closing for various reasons the townspeople
were up in arms. But, lo and behold, people
came together and finances were provided to
restore the old building and make it into
just a restaurant and gift shop. We were
very impressed when we ate breakfast there
this morning and saw the outstanding upgrade
including the ice cream parlor. The waitress
who has been there 26 years told us they
found the ice cream parlor in an old barn in
Strasburg, cleaned it up and installed a new
counter. They even have a soda jerk who
serves the popular ice cream shakes and
special ice cream treats.
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& Brooksyne
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Weber".Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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