Today, we celebrate moms!

Whether a biological mother or spiritual mother or both, we are so blessed to have you as a part of our church family.  Today, we want to honor and celebrate you!

The 24/7/365, life-long responsibility of raising children is no easy task.  As many mothers here can testify, motherhood definitely does not stop when they reach the age of 18.

For your many sleepless nights, disciplines enforced, tears shed, prayers prayed, failures, successes, and everything in between; we are grateful for you! 

For your perseverance, your compassion, your enduring hope, your unfailing love; we are blessed by you!

From the very beginning, God saw that it wasn’t good for man to be alone.  How many ladies here can “Amen!” that?  When left on our own, we come up with some “creative” ideas that don’t always end well.

God created Eve from a part of Adam.  Created from Adam’s rib, she was created with the purpose of living life side-by-side as one with Adam.

Genesis 2:24

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

There are plenty of teachings out there about what a Christian household should look like.  In fact, you may have heard and firmly hold to this teaching about marriage and the role of the wife in that relationship taken from Ephesians 5. 

In the New International Version of the Bible, the heading is “Instructions for Christian Households.” 

In the New Living Translation, the heading is “Spirit-Guided Relationships: Wives and Husbands.” 

In The Passion Translation, the heading is simply “Loving Relationships.”

The topics covered in Ephesians chapters 5-6 vary from the relationships of husbands, wives, children, masters, slaves (which we can apply to the employer/employee relationship today).

Ephesians 5:22-24

22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

However, rarely when this is being taught do we begin just a single verse before this.

Ephesians 5:21

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Mutual submission, working in cooperation as one flesh, just like Jesus and the church.  This is how we were created to function.  Not just in our relationship with God, but in our relationship with our spouse and in our relationships with our children and our family as a whole and in our relationships at school or work and in our relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ in the church. 

Mutual submission resulting in a unified body operating at its full potential!

Remember last week?  Unstoppable!

None more important than the other, but rather each and every part performing the function for which they were created not for their own benefit, but in the service and for the benefit of others.

Women, created in the very image of God, have always played a very important role in fulfilling God’s will and purposes. 

In a world culture where women were viewed as property, God chose to exalt them to roles of prophet to speak on His behalf such as Moses and Aaron’s sister, Miriam, who also lead the nation of Israel in worship right after the Red sea swept over the Egyptian army (Exodus 15:20), as well as  Deborah who also served as a judge and leader over the entire nation of Israel during the time of judges (Judges 4:4), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14; 2 Chronicles 34:22), Noadiah (Nehemiah 6:14), Anna who recognized baby Jesus as the Messiah (Luke 2:36-38), and an unnamed prophetess (Isaiah 8:3).

Bold and courageous women fill the scriptures.  Shiphrah and Puah were Hebrew midwives during the time of Egyptian bondage.  They refused to obey their earthly king when he asked them to abort all male children in direct contradiction to God’s will.

Exodus 1:1

Last week, we learned how to walk in the Spirit from the real-life example of Jesus as He was doubted, questioned, challenged, and even hated.  When we remain filled with the Holy Spirit, the greater One dwelling within us leaves no room for the enemy to trip us up.  He can’t get a foothold or a stronghold or an any hold in our lives if we were just able to stay filled with the Holy Spirit.

We are unstoppable!

Paul reminds us that when we choose to walk in the Spirit, and not by our flesh, we live fruitful lives that are unstoppable!

Galatians 5:21-23

21 …I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

No matter how bad things get in the world, even when Christianity is outlawed, there is still nothing that can stop us from living a Spirit-filled and Spirit-fueled life! 

No one and nothing can stop you from loving others.

No one and nothing can stop you from being joyful.

No one and nothing can stop you from having peace.

No one and nothing can stop you from being patient.

No one and nothing can stop you from being kind.

No one and nothing can stop you from the goodness of God.

No one and nothing can stop you from being faithful.

No one and nothing can stop you from being gentle.

No one and nothing can stop you from having self-control.

As the days grow darker and darker and more and more evil, always remember these facts.  Even under severe persecution, nothing can stop you from reaching your full, God-created potential.  No one can stop you from being a bold and courageous witness to the Presence of God within you and the salvation that you have received. 

In fact, the more that persecution comes and tries to stop it, the greater that the power of God is revealed through our lives!  We turn now to just one of the many examples of what a Spirit-fueled life looks like as the church was just getting started:

Acts 5:12-42

12 The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. 13 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. 15 As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16 Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.

The greater the manifestation of God’s glory, the greater the opposition from the enemy and it often rises from the least expected places as well.  Sadly, opposition usually rises from “religious” people who claim to be God’s representatives while more and more of the lost is reached with the hope found in Jesus.

17 Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.

Remember, our lives were created as containers and they will be filled with something.  They were intended for the Spirit of God, but they’ll accept whatever we choose to fill them with.  In this case, it was jealousy.

18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. 20 “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.”

When we step out of our comfort zone, our flesh, and into the Spirit-realm, we become unstoppable!  When God is for us, no one can truly stand against us!   When we desire to tell people about the new life available to them, God gets excited and will do all that He can to equip and empower you to do it!  The angelic realm serves

Last week, we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus.  He is alive!  Nothing could keep Him down!  Nothing could trip Him up!  Nothing can stop the Kingdom of God, the will of God, nor the purposes of God!  That means that if you choose to put your faith in Jesus and receive new life, you also are unstoppable! 

How do we make the most of this new life that Jesus gave us?  How do we know if we are living it well or missing out on something that God has for us?

This morning, we’re going to venture through Luke chapter 11 together.  Through a vast dynamic of being questioned, challenged, doubted, and even opposed by others, Jesus teaches so much about how to effectively live a Spirit-filled life.  It begins where every great revival began, where Heaven meets Earth, where potential is unlocked, where Kingdom secrets are revealed, where all that we need to be equipped and empowered by God begins; PRAYER!

Luke 11:1-26

1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Matthew 6:9-13 (KJV)

9 …Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Now I don’t believe that Jesus intended for these words to become words that we repeat out of tradition.  It’s not that there is anything wrong with doing that.  However, the more that we say and do things out of tradition, the more that they can begin to lose their intent and motive and meaning. 

If Jesus wanted us to do so, then He would have made sure that Luke and Matthew both clearly heard and recorded His words exactly.  They both record Jesus’ example prayer quite differently.  Rather, this example prayer that Jesus gave us provides key aspects which are important to remember when we pray. 

First, a reminder to us of who God is and what our relationship is with Him.  Far more important than anything that we could ever do for God is who He is (our Father) and who we are (a child of God).

After remembering the priority of our identity, we then intercede that God’s Kingdom and will is accomplished here  on the earth and a reminder that we have a role in that process.  We have been given authority even as Jesus was given authority over all things while walking in our flesh.  We simply must learn how to steward and apply that authority well.

Third, a reminder that He is the provider of all things that we need and of our daily dependence on Him.

Fourth, the critical need for us to be forgiven of our sins and to also forgive others; to maintain healthy relationships both vertically with God and horizontally with others.

Fifth, an awareness of our own weakness and temptation and the evil so prevalent in this world that is always trying to trip us up and keep us down and hold us back.

Finally, a reminder to us that God is the source of all power and all glory forever.

These are keys to a healthy and effective prayer life with God.  What is important and what we can miss in this prayer is that it isn’t so much the words that we pray, but that we live a lifestyle of unceasing prayer that is important.  We are to be in constant communication with God. 

In fact, to prove this point, God’s word teaches us that sometimes the most powerful and effective prayers that we could ever pray are entirely wordless…

Romans 8:25-27

26 …the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the

John wrote:Revelation 1:10-1810 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet…12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw…someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!Without a doubt, Jesus is alive today! He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End! He is the One who was, who is, and who forevermore will be! Jesus was born like us except sinless; conceived by the Holy Spirit. He was fully God and fully man. He lived life in our flesh, faced every temptation that we face, and yet overcame them all. He alone lived a sinless life, but then gave it away being put to a sinner’s death on a cross. He paid the debt that we owe! He bore our sin and shame so that we might be forgiven and set free!

Then, three days after Jesus gave His life on the cross…Luke 24:1-81 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words.

Jesus didn’t raise again to life just for His own sake or just to show off the power of the Heavenly Father. He pioneered a way where there was no other way.

Now, by simple faith in Jesus and the work that He accomplished through His death and resurrection, we can also rise again in new life.

We were born once of flesh, but we can be born again by the Holy Spirit! Born not into sin, but into a full and abundant life empowered to no longer submit to sin or be weighed down and held back in life by it. Born again as a victor and overcomer in life; more than a conqueror!

The person that we were when we walked through these doors this morning does not have to be the same person who walks out. Right here and right now is an opportunity for every one of us to put to death our old selves and to rise up into a new life; eternal life!2 Corinthians 5:17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

For all of us, right now can be the moment when we cast that old self aside and step into the new self that Jesus declares that we are!

Today can be a day of freedom from all of the sin that weighs us down! Today can be a day of renewal as we cast off all of the lies that we’ve believed about ourselves and allow the voice of Jesus, the voice of truth, to define who we are!

Today, we can put to death our old selves and allow Jesus to resurrect us to a new life in Him!

Then, whenever our old self tries to trip us up again, whenever the devil tries to lie to us and put our guilt back on us, whenever others try to shame us by holding our past sins against us… Just like the angel asked at the empty tomb, we can ask them,“Why do you look

Lisa Wadding shares a powerful message on forgiveness and the freedom that comes when we learn how to truly forgive others and ourselves.

The post Forgiveness appeared first on New Hope Assembly of God in NuMine, PA.

Last week, we learned about and experienced a bit of the glory of God. 

This morning, we turn to the anointing of God.  Whereas the glory of God is ambiguous and our experiences vary when encountering it, the anointing of God comes with an intentional purpose to accomplish.

The anointing of God as seen in both the Old and New Covenants equips and empowers people to accomplish the will of God and His purposes for their lives.  The anointing of God is also often be accompanied by the impartation of spiritual gifts. 

Our focus is on the anointing of God upon people, however, objects were also often anointed to be set apart for God’s purposes such as items in the tabernacle or temple.  It was the anointing that consecrated those objects and made them holy; set apart for God’s purposes.

Anointing is a common practice going back throughout history which literally just means to apply perfumed oil onto.  It was commonly either poured out over or smeared on.  There isn’t anything particularly special about physically anointing something or someone.

This was a practice going back in history in many cultures beyond God’s chosen people.  Often guests would be anointed to honor them when entering a home.  Anointing oil was used for several medicinal purposes and still is today.  Shepherds would anoint their sheep to help keep pesky and dangerous bugs away from them.  Some cultures would anoint bodies upon death as a way of controlling the smell of decomposition.  Although not a Jewish custom, Mary, Mary, and Salome were on their way to anoint the body of Jesus when they found that He had rose again.

In Exodus 30, God gave Moses a special blend to make a special, holy, anointing oil.  It was so special that if anyone other than a priest made any anointing oil like it, they were to be cut off from the rest of the community.  No matter how unique and special the oil might have been, there is still nothing “magical” about anointing oil in and of itself.

Oh, but as we learned last week, when the spiritual meets the natural, everything changes!  When that same fragrant oil is used to apply the anointing of God at His direction, there is something awesome about it!

God’s anointing can heal the sick.  We use anointing oil here when we pray for the sick because that’s what Jesus’ disciples did (Mark 6:13) and also because it’s what God’s word calls us to do in James 5 as we pray in faith.

God’s anointing can raise the dead.  Elijah was anointed as a prophet of God and was, well, having a bad day and in a bit of depression and having a pity party right after bringing about one of the most powerful displays of God’s power and glory recorded in the Bible; the showdown between Baal and his prophets and the Lord and Elijah.

1 Kings 19:13-18

13 …Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. 18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

Jehu and Hazael both received a king’s anointing and Elisha received a prophetic anointing.  One of the purposes of both of these anointings was to carry out the wrath of God to deal with the unrepentant and stubborn sin of those who refused to follow the Lord and to instead turn to Baal and to lead others to do the same.  If you take a quick look of the aspects

The glory of God.

The Bible speaks of God’s glory quite often.  In fact, when Isaiah is taken into the throne room of God, he records that there were seraphim flying above him and crying out to one another:

Isaiah 6:3

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;

    the whole earth is full of his glory.”

The whole earth is full of God’s glory.  There isn’t a single moment of our lives where we have lived in the complete absence of God’s glory.  We’re also called to glorify God with our lives.  But what is glory?

Glory is a bit of an abstract term.  We know what it is, but it’s really hard to define.  It’s kind of like beauty.  We recognize beauty when we see it, but it’s really challenging to put into words what is and what isn’t beautiful.

Glory carries the idea of something that is exalted and worthy of praise.  There was a popular movie back in the day about a humble Catholic friar named Ignacio who is often overlooked and oppressed in his service to the Lord.  He had dreams of becoming a luchador; a professional wrestler in the Lucha Libre.  He just wanted a little taste of the glory, to see what it tasted like. 

* Nacho Libre Clip *

There is a glory that we receive and experience when we defeat all of our obstacles and rise up in victory.  It tastes pretty good, too.  However, there is no earthly glory that can even begin to compare to the glory of God!

The glory of God is so magnificent and so far beyond earthly glory that it is tangible.  It can be experienced with our senses.  Encounters come to mind like this one when the angels came and announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds:

Luke 2:9

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

The shepherds could see and feel the glory of the Lord.  In Ezekiel 10 and 43, he was taken by the Spirit into the temple of the Lord and he said that saw the glory of God coming from the east and it travelled through the east gate into the temple and then filled the whole temple.  He also saw the glory of God above cherubim rise and then move to the threshold of the temple and then filled the temple with radiance.

Isaiah prophesied about John the Baptist coming to prepare the way for Jesus and said about Jesus that:

Isaiah 40:5

…the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

    and all people will see it together.

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

When the first earthly temple was finished and being dedicated, this is recorded:

2 Chronicles 7:1-3

1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying,

“He is good;

    his love endures forever.”

This isn’t the first time that this happened, either.  Earlier, when the arc of the covenant, the very Presence of God, was carried into the temple:

2 Chronicles 5:13-14

13 The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang:

“He is good;

    his love endures forever.”

Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, 14 and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.

The many various manifestations of God’s Presence and glory is not just some new Pentecostal experience.  The glory of God came in the form of a cloud many times in the scriptures.  On Mt. Sinai, as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night that lead the Israelites from slavery to God’s promises, a

Recently, our family encountered something that all of us do at some point in life; we encountered a series of unfortunate events.  One of those events was the breakdown of our main car, our Acadia.  It was ran low on oil about a year beforehand and the engine finally decided to blow.  I mean, rod through the side of the engine, dump all of the oil at once, travelling from 60 to 0 in a few seconds, fill the car completely with smoke blown.

Our car was broken.

The interesting, but fair thing about cars is that they hold their value pretty well so long as they drive.  As fast as that car came to a dead stop along 422, its value plummeted with it.  It was literally worth 10 times the amount that morning as it was that evening.  Who knew that an engine was such an important part to a car? 

In our culture, when things are broken, they become worthless.  We’re so quick to throw things away and replace them with something new.  We don’t fix things anymore.  Things just aren’t made like they used to be.  Things made today are made with that very intent; to be thrown out and replaced with something newer.

There is a very common misconception out there that God sees things the same way.  Before we go to church, we have to get our lives right.  We don’t want to be hypocrites.  Before we approach God, we first have to stop sinning.  We’re only worthy to approach God, only worth anything to Him, when we live a good life.

Nothing could be further from the truth!  This religious lie of has put up a false barrier that keep far too many people away from God who need to draw near to Him.

God will never, ever turn His back on someone who calls on Him in their sin.  Hypocrisy is not honest, broken, sinful people who go to church to seek and serve God.  Hypocrisy is people who go to church and then claim that they are without sin and better than those who don’t.  Jesus has a huge problem with true hypocrisy as well!

If you walk through these doors wasted and high without a penny in your pocket, or in whatever other sin-consumed state you can imagine, but you come here in that condition because you know you need Jesus; that’s exactly where you need to be and exactly why we’re here.  Hopefully the people you meet here will welcome you with open arms and love you enough to come alongside of you to go to Jesus together.

This isn’t some new-age, hyper-grace, seeker-friendly, watered-down concept of what church is supposed to be, either.  It’s a Biblical truth and reality!  The world doesn’t place much value in broken things, but God places incredible value in our brokenness!  Why?  Because God sees not just our brokenness, but our full potential with which we were created! 

God will never turn away anyone to turns to Him in their brokenness.  To Him, we are beautifully broken!

God doesn’t toss aside broken things, He is a redeemer and a restorer.  He is a master craftsman who can repurpose and restore anyone from any circumstance!  Not even rotting in a tomb for days is too far gone for Jesus, just ask Lazarus!

The Bible is full of brokenness because mankind’s history and present and future is full of it.  This will continue up until the day that Jesus proclaims, “Behold, I make all things new!”  The Bible is full of broken men and women who turned to the Lord and not a single story where God turns them away.  In fact, all of the mighty men and women of God who did incredible things for the Lord have recorded in their Biblical account their brokenness, too.

We turn first to a brief and pointed parable of Jesus about this very subject matter.  Who does God accept and who does God reject?  The religious person who lives righteously and stands firmly on their own righteousness to approach God?  Or the broken sinner who asks for God’s mercy?

Luke 18:9-14

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one

Have you ever read through the life of Jesus and ran into a situation where Jesus didn’t seem to be acting very Christ-like?  But He is the Christ, so everything that He does is Christ-like?  And He is sinless, so nothing that He did was sinful, but if you saw and heard someone do or say what He said or did you would say that they were sinning?

There’s a few instances where I’ve been challenged in that way.  For example, I feel this way when I read about all of the name calling that Jesus did.  You know, like broods of vipers, hypocrites, murderers, and perhaps the best one; sons of Hell. 

Although it still makes me uncomfortable to read, I understand why He wasn’t sinning by doing it.  His name calling wasn’t an emotional overreaction said from an annoyed or embittered or opinionated heart like we do. 

He was speaking truthfully and sincerely from a heart motive of love that was trying to abruptly wake them up and get their attention.  His intent was to motivate them to repentance and save them from themselves and where they were leading His people.

This morning, we’re going to learn together from one of the other instances that, honestly, makes me cringe.  I know, I know, it shouldn’t, but I still have room to grow and perspectives that still need sanctified. 

Matthew 21:18-19

18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

Now, we’re going to read this same account from Mark where we learn a bit more information that makes this encounter even more cringey for me.  It wasn’t the season for figs.  Jesus expected a fig tree to produce figs for Him out of season.  Was Jesus just hangry?  You know, angry because you’re hungry?

I’m not going to mention any names, but there are a few members of our family that have some pretty serious mood swings when they get hungry.  Irritability and anxiety levels are high, patience runs low, their fuse grows pretty short.  Can anyone else relate?

It seems so unfair to that fig tree to be cursed and to die because it wasn’t bearing fruit out of season, right?

Jesus wasn’t unfair and He didn’t sin by cursing and killing that tree.  Jesus was making a very significant point by doing this in front of His disciples.  Jesus did this intentionally and made sure that it was recorded in His word for us to learn from as well.  Jesus was not hangry.  Jesus was teaching us.

There is no such thing as an off season in the Kingdom of God!  The gospel is always in season.  When we stay rooted in Christ, we will never cease to bear the good fruits of the Spirit!  When we live our lives in full trust and confidence in Him, not only will our leaves be green, but unlike that fig tree, we will also never fail to bear good fruit.

Jeremiah 17:7-8

7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,

    whose confidence is in him.

8 They will be like a tree planted by the water

    that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes;

    its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

    and never fails to bear fruit.”

And the alternative?  If we try to live life apart from the Lord?  Well, Jesus said it this way:

John 15:6

If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

So, which are we?  Are we rooted and firmly connected in trust to Jesus?  Are we branches full of good fruit or are we withered up firewood?  Whichever you might be, today is a day where we can learn from the fig tree and choose to live fruitful lives as we place our roots and our trust in Jesus!

Let’s dig in and see what other revelation Jesus intended for us to receive from this encounter by zooming out a bit and seeing what happened b

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