Today I was thinking about the subject of roots. These past two months I have spent much time preparing my garden beds for planting. You can’t just plant without cultivating—preparing your ground.
Where do these roots come from?
Every year I have a few beds with roots that need to be dug and pulled up. They come from nearby trees and bushes. It’s a lot of work.
Some roots come up easily, but some are troublesome. You have to dig deeper and then pull with as much strength as you can muster. Develop some muscles in the process. Anyway it’s a work out in itself.
Why this gardening lesson?
You’re probably wondering why I’m giving you a gardening lesson. This is just a visual of what I really want to talk about. Let’s look at this as the garden of our hearts.
Whatever we allow to come into our hearts can develop a root—especially if we haven’t tended to it, like I described above. When we are disturbed about something or even angry, it has to be dealt with quickly. We can’t ignore it.
Most of the time you know what you’re upset about. Did someone wrong you or say something unkind? (more…)
Abundant Life †
Abundant life is found in Christ.
He is the way the Truth and the life.
I in Him and Him in me—
That is the way it was meant to be.
I have no life apart from Him,
But I must be dead to enter in.
Life is full, life is sweet
Sitting at my Masters feet.
Now He says, come up my child and sup with Me.
I have many tasty morsels prepared for thee.
At My table you’ll find a feast prepared for thee.
A table full of all the things you’ll need.
To live a life triumphant and an overcomer be—
Eat from My table the good things I prepared for thee.
You’ll find the abundant life that is waiting for you,
As you partake of My table, My life will manifest in you.
Poems of Life Book 2
by D.K. Segraves
A couple of months ago, I took my van in to a shop and had work done on it. They replaced the rack and pinion steering column, power steering pump and realigned it.
I’d been driving for a while with my steering getting worse every day, particularly when parking. When I picked up my vehicle, I couldn’t believe how it handled with ease. It turned on a dime. I believe now my power steering was close to going out. So much for that saying, “If it’s not broke don’t fix it.” I just didn’t think it was that bad. I grew accustomed to it. Where am I going with this story?
I say all this to say, sometimes it’s our life that needs fixing. We’re not always aware of it. In the case of my van, I became aware when it started getting worse. However, I still put it off thinking it’s not that bad. I deceived myself. In our lives, we can do the same thing.
In the case of my power steering, if I put it off any longer, I wouldn’t have had power. That would have been rough. In life, things can get rough too, but we can’t afford to ignore the problem. We cannot wait until there is a breakdown in our lives.
Driving my van with these new parts was freeing. I didn’t have to work at it. It was effortless.
Have you ever just wanted to dump the weight you’ve been carrying on your shoulders? We all have wanted do-overs in life. The good news is you can have one. You can release the past and start all over with a clean slate.
There is one, who loves us like no one else. He doesn’t want us to carry our burdens, past mistakes, our hurts and pains. He is the one who created us. He hurts when we hurt. The God of universe loves us so much— that He gave His only Son to take it all. He took every burden and the weight of sin. You may be saying, “But you don’t know what I have done?” It doesn’t matter, Jesus took these things to the cross and He said it is finished. He died to give us freedom from these things.
This Christmas season, people are buying many gifts from the mall and on line. These gifts will quit working, break, wear out, etc. You get my point.
John 3:16 NKJ. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
God’s gift, unlike the ones you are purchasing this holiday season, will not pass away. He wants you to receive his Son Jesus Christ, His free gift He gave to the world. Jesus took our burdens, shame, mistakes we made and every sin any of us would commit, upon Himself.
Do you want to walk in this freedom that God provided for everyone? Jesus Christ is the answer. Salvation is God’s free gift He provided for all. It’s your choice. The one who can help is waiting for you, with open arms. God wants to have a relationship with you too. John 14:6 NKJ. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 3:16 told us we must believe. Do you believe He is the Son of God that died for us? The good news He rose again. He lives in the hearts of those who have received Jesus Christ. He can live in your heart today if you want Him too.
The first step is to— believe He is the Son of God who died for us. Ask God to forgive you for all your sins. (Know that we all have sinned and come short of God’s glory.)” Then ask Jesus to come into your heart to live. Ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit.
Romans.10: 8-10 NKJ. “But what does it say? The word is near you. In your mouth and in your heart” (that is the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
For those of us, who have received Jesus in our hearts, we too must choose daily to walk in the freedom He has given—to just let things go.
My van’s power steering was going out. I finally got sick and tired of it and had it fixed. The difference was like day and night. We can’t do things in our own power. We don’t have the strength or ability to fix our own stuff. We need the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives.
If you have been blessed by this post, I encourage you to share it with your friends and family this Christmas season.
May God Bless and Keep You
D.K. Segraves
The Man on the Flying Trapeze †
The man on the flying trapeze can swing on a wire—
Knowing there is a net to catch him as he goes higher.
Although he has the skill and training to this feat,
He knows if he slips there is a net beneath.
Is that you, do you depend more upon what you know?
Do you have a net you depend on as you go?
If that net below is what makes you secure,
Where’s your dependency on God in what you’re going through?
Do you run to the arms of flesh for your security and dependence?
Or do you run into your high tower Rock of defense.
The Master’s arms are open wide to hold and help you.
Arms of the flesh can’t take God’s place, can’t rescue you.
Think about the trapeze artist and the safety net—
He depends upon there being a net below to catch.
What if those in charge fail to hold the net.
That man surely will fall to his death.
If you depend upon man and what you know in the natural,
Man can fail and drop the net—life is that fragile.
So in the high wire of life when you’re on your trapeze,
Look to God; depend on Him; He will catch you with ease.
Come to a place where you let go of the bar, whatever it is.
And free fall into the arms of love—they’ll never miss.
God is your safe haven you can run into day or night.
In Him, you can rest knowing everything is going to be alright.
Poem taken from Poems of Life book 2
