Weeding & Nutrients

 

Weeding.  It’s the chore that always seems to creep up on me in the summer.  Whether it is weeding a flower bed, a vegetable bed or even weeds that grow within the grass, weeds seem to love the heat of the summer.  Timing for weeding can be a bit difficult.  If a person weeds often, trying to pull out the little weeds can be difficult; there may not be much weed to hold onto.  If a person waits too long to weed, the weed can take over the bed and they are very large.  Therefore, weeding is one of those chores that can be tough to manage.

Weeding is important.  If weeds are allowed to grow, they truly can suck the life out of the plants that need the nutrients from the soil.  Instead of the good items of the soil providing assistance for plants to grow, the weeds gain some of the ‘good stuff’, not allowing full growth to take place for the plants.  The other part of weeding that is important is truly the visual aspect of weeds.  Although some weeds can be ‘pretty’, most do not provide a pleasing visual value to vegetable or flower beds.  Ahhh, the turmoil of weeding!

I’ve always likened weeds to sins.  There are sins that are ‘little’ and sins that are ‘big’, just like weeds.  Yet all sins can suck the life out of us.  With the Holy Spirit tucked into our souls, sin can cause great disruption and weigh heavy on our shoulders.  This can drain us of the goodness in life and doesn’t provide us the nutrients to grow.  When sin takes over our souls, we can become incapable of growing with God.  All we do is focus on all the bad of evil and we don’t concentrate on all the goodness, or salvation, that Jesus has provided us. 

Think about it!  We are the plant, sin is the weed and Jesus is the nutrients.  When we sin and focus on our sin, Jesus cannot enter the plant (us) and provide us the necessary nutrients, his mercy and grace.  So how do we go about weeding out our sins?  The glory of confession and forgiveness!  By confessing our sins and asking for Jesus’ forgiveness, we weed our souls of sin and we let Jesus’ nutrients of forgiveness and salvation fill us up.  Just as the angels in this verse weed out sin, we have the ability to weed out the sin in our lives as well.

We can be overcome by many things in this world.  Hatred, anger, jealousy, and unkindness can be some of the sin that can fill our souls, especially in a world that can focus on the negative versus the positive.  Let’s take an opportunity to rid the weeds of sin and hatred and let the nutrients of love and Jesus fill us up.  Be grateful that Jesus provides us a way to rid the weeds and made us strong!

Dearest Jesus, thank you for ‘weeding’ our souls and providing us ‘nutrients’ to replace the weeds.  Help us to reflect on our sins, ask for forgiveness and lead us to a life of ‘nutrients’ and love with you.  Amen

Running Into Jesus' Waters

 

Imagine with me!  It is an extremely hot and humid day.  The heat is really getting to you.  You are by a body of water.  Maybe it is the ocean, a lake, or even a pool.  You look at it and say, “Maybe I’ll just dip my toe into the water!”  You hem and haw and then finally go for it.  The water feels so refreshing on your toes you think, “Maybe I’ll venture into my ankles.”  Fresh relief of the sun.  Before you know it, you are waist high in the cool refreshment of the water.  Then you say to yourself, “Why not?  Just go all in!”  With hair wet and a smile on your face, you emerge from the water a new person – no longer hot and sticky but cool and refreshed.  Pure joy!  You leave the water and realize in a few moments, the water provided such happiness, the next time you find yourself running into the water! 

I have often felt our time with Jesus could be similar to entering a body of water.  You may ‘dip your toe’ into faith – going to church at Christmas or Easter.  Maybe you go a little further and actually participate in the service, singing praise songs and feeling energized.  Before you know it, the Bible Study on Wednesday evenings sound interesting.  Then, at dinner with a friend on Saturday, when asked why you look so happy and full of joy, you share the good news of simple faith in Jesus.  On Sunday, you find yourself waking up early, grabbing your Bible, and heading off to church with pure happiness.

Jesus does that to us, doesn’t He?  He teases us into the water with hope, covers us with salvation and has us running back to him to experience his unconditional love.  Our simple faith in Jesus and fully accepting his sacrifice for our sins brings us running back to him – for his love, his safety, his strength, and his salvation.  This does not mean that we do not retreat sometimes back to the ‘toe dipping’ stages.

There have been times in my life, unfortunately, when I may question Jesus, ask too many whys, and instead of running back to his safety, I may retreat and dip my toes back into faith. I am not proud of those moments and realize that running back into the water, into the arms of my savior, would have been the better decision – especially when those moments were so difficult. 

Friends, when we retreat to dipping our toes instead of running in, there is such great news!  Jesus is waiting for us either way.  He will be there waiting for us regardless of how we come back to him.  He knows he is in our hearts and that our ability to have simple faith in him will always prevail – and our joy and happiness will come back!

The next time you are standing at the end of the water of faith, you may dip your toes ever so gently.  Yet, know that if you go running into the water, happiness and joy will be waiting for you.  So, take the dive, run into the water, get your hair wet, and let Jesus’ love wash over you!

Dearest Jesus, help me to always run back to your open arms.  I know my safety, joy and happiness lie within those arms.  Give me simple faith to take the plunge into your love!  Amen!

 

Bathing Suit Blues

 

One of the items I enjoy most about summer is water.  Whether it is the beach, the lake, the pool – just being around water, finding a float to lay on and have my fingertips touch the water – that brings me great peace.  There is something about water that washes over my soul and provides me with a sense of calmness.  I believe that is why people may associate water with relaxation.

Now GETTING to that water experience can bring a sense of anxiousness.  Yes, there are the typical questions, “Did we bring the sunscreen?” “Do we have all the towels?”, and “Have we packed enough beverages?”.  The biggest one for me is always, “How do I look in this bathing suit?”  I have never been what I would call a thin person.  As many of you know, I have struggled with weight most of my life.  Nothing screams this more than when I need to select the dreaded bathing suit, hence, the bathing suit blues.

Most people are looking for something to show their skin.  I am always looking for something that would cover my skin (the more skin covered, the merrier I am).  Going shopping for a bathing suit is a difficult and stressful situation.  When I find the ‘perfect’ level of covering, then and only then, would I feel comfortable heading off to the water.

Throughout my life this verse has been with me.  It has helped me to constantly focus on what is truly important, how I am in God’s sight – not my sight!  There is no need for the perfect bathing suit.  There is also no need for the perfect shoes, perfect suit, perfect earrings, or perfect hairstyle.  It is not what is on the outside of us that matters to God.  It is also what should matter to us! 

We are perfect in God’s sight for He created us!  Who are we to mess with God’s perfection?  Yes, it is important to be healthy, to eat well and to not harm this great body God gave us.  Yet, when the focus becomes our outward appearance and not concerning ourselves what is on the inside, our priorities are not God focused.  Let us remember this when we are stressing over the bathing suit blues, the hairstyle horribles, or the shoe shockers.  Let us remember that nothing we can put on can be as beautiful as the inward beauty we all have in God’s sight.  Get out there and enjoy the water!

Heavenly Father, thank you for the wonderful reminder in 1 Peter 3: 3-4, sharing that our outward appearance will never be as important in your sight as our inner self.  Help us to be reminded of this when the bathing suit blues take over.  In your gracious sight we pray, Amen!

Laziness to Sin

 

It is hot today.  The sun is bright, the humidity is high and so is the temperature.  Welcome to summer!  Those that are floating in a pool, on a boat in a lake, or watching the tide come in and out at the beach are happy people.  These types of days seem to be a breeding ground for a touch of the ‘lazies’ for me – a chance to say, “It’s to hot to….” and find my way to a chair on the deck or, when that gets a bit too warm, a chair in the air-conditioned living room.

I have plenty of items on my ‘to do’ list, yet none of them seem to get done.  I thought about what happens when I am lazy in other aspects of my life.  I tend to be the much like Martha from the Bible, always finding household chores to do and ensuring everyone and everything is addressed.  When I get a case of the ‘lazies,’ it tends to take hold.  Although it is nice to rest, by not tending to the areas where I know God wants me to spend time and attention, it moves from rest to sin.

Writing a quick note to a friend who has been on my mind, spending time in God’s Word, skipping church when I could go, are all signs of moving from rest to lazy to sin.  Our world can be full of these types of small yet significant sins.  I am reminded that ALL sins count, not just the big ones but the little ones too.  Taking the effortless way out of something instead of putting in the work is probably the most significant of all.  There have been moments in my life when I took the easy way out of a situation, only to pay the price on the other side of the situation resulting in more work, more money, more energy, more time.

Friends, rest is important.  Recharging our batteries so we can continue the good work God sent us to do is vital in all of our lives.  If we do not take care of ourselves, rest and relax, when necessary, we can take the lazy way out of situations, leading to poor choices and sinful ways.  Take time to recharge, but do not forget the work God put on our paths to accomplish.  It is okay to relax and splurge a bit – let us just not make a habit of it and ensure we turn back to God’s path.

Enjoy the days of summer.  May we relax, recharge, and refocus our attentions on the right priorities, God’s priorities, instead of taking the ‘lazies’ to a path of sin. Here is to time in the pool, on the lake or at the beach! 

Dearest Lord, help me to recharge without making me take a lazy path to sin.  Help me to rest and refocus on the path you have provided for me.  In your name I pray, Amen.