Pomegranate Blooms

A Tree Replanted in Eden

2012-03-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

You're a tree replanted in Eden bearing fresh fruit every month.
Psalm 1, The Message

Each of us are created to be unique and different. God planned for each of us to be like trees planted in the Garden of Eden bearing fresh fruit every month. However, when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit that all changed. Every person born thereafter was the same. We became diseased trees bearing sinful fruit.

God is not to be outsmarted. He had a plan to save us, his diseased trees, before He ever created this world. Jesus, Son of God, released His will to the Father in a garden, then, released His life for us, on a tree. How marvelous! How amazing! Then wonder of wonders His death became life. Death had no hold on Him, Jesus, Son of God, Tree of Life!

Now, according to God's plan, we who believe in Christ Jesus, are again unique. We each, through Him, blossom bearing good fruit, different fruit. But hasn't God called us to be one? One body, in Him, united in Him? Yes, we are each different trees, bearing different fruit, in one garden. Or another way to describe this would be to say we are all unique puzzle pieces fitting together to create one puzzle. How puzzling!

I pray today that I would trust through the power of the Spirit of Christ to bear fruit for Him that would be nutritious for the whole Body of Christ, that is, the Church.

To God be the Glory! Amen

Finding Faith in a Flower

2012-03-07T11:01:00.000-08:00

A Collection of Joy
by Helen Steiner Rice

Sometimes when faith is running low
And I cannot fathom why things are so,
I walk among the flowers that grow
And learn the answers to all I would know...
For among my flowers I have come to see
Life's miracle and its mystery,
And standing in silence and reverie,
My faith comes flooding back to me.

He Leads Us Gently

2011-07-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young. Isaiah 8:6 NIV

My seven month old grandson loves flowers and plants reaching his sweet, little hands out to touch and to feel the colorful new sights that stimulate his mind. He is a rambunctious little guy and you would think he would just grab the tender leaves and smash them between his fingers. But he doesn't do that. He stretches out his hands and gently touches the petals of our red petunias barely grazing them with his fingertips.

Jesus is like that. He gently touches our hearts to lead us in the way we should go. He knows what we need when we need it and He is always tender knowing that we are fragile. Like the soft petals of petunias we can be easily crushed but we are guided by the Good Shepherd who carries us gently close to His heart.

To God be the Glory! Amen.

Gardening

2011-06-11T15:04:00.000-07:00

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be ever more fruitful. John 15:1-2

A few years ago my husband, Michael C., had a heart attack and was told by his doctor he needed to take up a hobby as a stress reliever. Michael C. is very good with his hands and enjoys woodworking and drawing to a certain extent. I began to pray about this asking the Lord to provide him with a stress relieving hobby he would enjoy. Naturally, I assumed it would involve woodworking or drawing, or at least something along those lines. Boy, was I wrong. I have learned to never assume where God is concerned.

To my great surprise, and I have to say it was indeed a great surprise, my prayer was answered with one word: gardening. Michael C. has NEVER enjoyed working in the yard. He hates to cut the grass and he never cared one whit about a shrub or flower. Now, however, nothing gives him greater pleasure than working in the garden he built in the backyard.

Michael C. didn't just plant a garden. He built a raised bed and grows herbs, vegetables, and flowers in the garden. He trims shrubs and dead-heads petunias. Each day when he gets home from work the first thing he does is check on his garden to see "how does his garden grow."

I really don't know why I think it odd that God would answer my prayer in such a way. After all, He is the Master Gardener. He planted a garden in Eden for the first man and woman He created and Jesus even refers to us, His children, as God's garden. God prunes us and trims us and dead-heads us when we need it. Like a petunia the most beautiful flowers form in us when God removes the dead buds to make way for new blooms to flower.

So...to God be the Glory! Amen.

Friends Are Life's Gift of Love

2011-06-09T07:41:00.000-07:00

From A Collection of Joy by Helen Steiner Rice

If people like me didn't know people like you,

Life would lose its meaning and its richness too...

For the friends that we make are life's gift of love,

And I think friends are sent right

from heaven above...

And thinking of you somehow makes me feel

That God is love and He's very real.

Life is a Garden

2011-06-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

From A Collection of Joy by Helen Steiner Rice

Life is a garden, good friends are the flowers,

And times spent together life's happiest hours...

And friendship, like flowers, bloom ever more fair

When carefully tended by dear friends who care...

2011-06-02T12:49:00.000-07:00

From the song "God of Wonders"

Early in the morning
I will celebrate the light
And as I stumble through the darkness
I will call Your name by night

God of wonders, beyond our galaxy
You are holy, holy
The universe declares Your majesty
You are holy, holy.

We use the word "awesome" to describe most anything we think is good. A great play in a ballgame is awesome. The newest flavor of ice cream is awesome. A good time at an amusement park is awesome or a song we really like is described as awesome.

The word awesome comes from the the word awe defined in the dictionary as:

A mixed emotion of reverence, respect, dread, and wonder inspired by authority, genius, great beauty, sublimity, or might.

For me the only thing in the universe capable of filling the definition of awesome is the God of Wonders, the Lord of Light and Salvation, the Trinity---Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To use the word awesome to describe anything else is to fall short of the limitless power of the Creator.

In this context some things are awesome like works of God through nature as seen in the beauty of a sunrise or sunset, the sweetness of child's smile, the awe-ful power of a tornado.

The God of Wonders displays His awesomeness all around for the world to see. There is no language that does not understand His awesome power. And this awesome God loves me...and you. Now that is truly awesome!

To God be the Glory! Amen.

The Beauty of God's Creation

2011-05-31T20:55:00.000-07:00

From From the Heart by Helen Steiner Rice

A THANKFUL RESPONSE

The beauty of twilight, the freshness of dawn,
the coolness of dew on a green velvet lawn-
Great is our loss when we no longer find
a thankful response to things of this kind.

He will make your righteousness
shine like the dawn, the justice of
your cause like the noonday sun.
Psalm 37:6

Today respond with deep appreciation
to scenes painted by our Master Artist.

I Love the Smell of Hedgebushes in the Morning

2011-05-29T11:17:00.000-07:00

Praise the LORD, O my soul...who satisfies your desires with good things. Psalm 103:1,5

When I step out my back door on a balmy, Southern spring day the scent of sweet hedges accost my senses and I am almost overcome by the heady smell. I have no clue what these bushes are really called but in my neck of the woods we call them hedgebushes. They are prolific in the South and most people consider them a nuisance. But not I. I love the delicate blooms and sweet flowers on these otherwise mundane shrubs.

You can smell them from daylight to dark and the scent is truly heaven "sent." If you let them grow they actually become quite large trees or they can be sculpted the way you trim crepe myrtles. I imagine walking with the Lord in the cool of the evening, talking to Him as together we enjoy the beauty of another of His wondrous creations---hedgebushes. Hedgebushes are surely a good thing!

To God be the Glory! Amen.

The Fruit of Unfailing Love

2011-05-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

Sow for yourselves righteousness,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the LORD,
until he comes
and showers righteousness on you.
Hosea 10:12 NIV

The Old Testament book of Hosea is a beautiful word picture of God's everlasting love for His people. His greatest gift of love to us is his Son, Jesus Christ, who also used word pictures in the parables to describe God's love for His people. In the parable of the Sower (Matthew 13) Jesus teaches us about sowing our seed in good soil which will produce a good crop.

God tells us in Hosea to sow righteousness and to break up our unplowed ground. We must till the garden of our heart breaking up the hard ground through forgiveness and patient endurance. We must seek the LORD in the cool of our heart garden (Genesis 3:8) and He will shower us with blessings. Then we will produce a good crop of blessings: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This is the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians---the fruit of unfailing love---a very good crop indeed.

To God be the Glory! Amen.

Smiles

2011-05-12T11:06:00.000-07:00

From the fruit of his lips a man is filled with good things as surely as the work of his hands rewards him.
Proverbs 12:14

In From the Heart, Helen Steiner Rice shares this poetic verse regarding the sweetness of a smile:

Nothing on earth

can make life more worthwhile

than the sunshine and warmth

of a beautiful smile.

At this very moment I am looking at my six month old grandson who is giving me his sweetest baby smile. His smile makes me very happy and I smile back at him. Nothing is quite so warming as his beautiful smile. My day brightens by more than 1000 watts when my grandson smiles at me.

Today smile at someone. It will make them happy and it will surely make you happy, too. God's gift to someone today may even be your beautiful smile. Try it. You might like it!

To God be the Glory! Amen.

God's Beautiful Creation

2011-05-05T07:56:00.000-07:00

From the Holy Bible New Living Translation

I will sing to the LORD as long as I live.
I will praise my God to my last breath!
May all my thoughts be pleasing to Him,
for I rejoice in the LORD.
Psalm 104:33-34

Psalm 104 describes the awe and splendor of God's wondrous creation saying in verse 31, "The LORD takes pleasure in all he has made!" Today is a beautiful day in the south following the terrible storms of last week. And even though we mourn the loss of life and property let us turn our thoughts to Him praising our God even to our last breath for the pleasure He takes in pleasing us.

To God be the Glory! Amen

God's Smiling Face

2011-04-18T08:18:00.000-07:00

From From the Heart: One Minute Devotions by Helen Steiner Rice

THE GLORY AND THE GRACE

Let us see the beauty
And the glory and the grace
That surrounds us in the springtime
As the smiling of God's face.

My soul thirsts for God, for
the living God. When can
I go and meet with God?

Psalm 42:2

Today, if you really look, you
can see God's presence and
presents all around you.

A Prayer for the Morning

2011-03-29T06:01:00.000-07:00

from A Collection of Joy by Helen Steiner Rice

Show Me How More Clearly the Way

To Serve and Love You More Each Day

God, help me in my feeble way
to somehow do something each day
to show You that I love You best
And that my faith will stand each test,

                    And let me serve You everyday
                    And feel You near me when I pray.
                    Oh, hear my prayer, dear God above,
                    And make me worthy of Your love.

What a Beautiful Day!

2011-02-22T19:37:00.000-08:00

The flowers are springing up, the season of singing birds has come, and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air.
Songs of Songs 2:12 NLT

Today was a beautiful day. The sky was blue and I watched little yellow-breasted finches play in our Bradford Pear tree while our two black cats hungrily eyed the birds from the lower branches of the tree. Besides that, the neighbor's daffodils are blooming and I do love daffodils.

It's warm enough for my sweet husband, Michael C., and I to sit in our front porch rocking chairs even as he recovers from hip replacement surgery. I know winter isn't over but today was an encouraging reminder that spring is just around the corner.

To God be the Glory! Amen.

For God So Loved the World

2010-11-26T12:12:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving day, with all its delights of food, family, and friends, has passed and the season for preparation begins. As we prepare for the coming of the Christ Child during the season of Advent we also prepare for His coming again. His infinite love tells us He will come again and gather all those who are His to Himself to live forever with Him in His presence.

Even the death of Jesus was a preparation. He prepared to go to the Father who loved the world so much that He sent His son to us. And at that time of preparation Christ's thoughts and prayers were for His children. Listen to the prayer He prayed to God the Father on behalf of those He loved most---us.

"My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name, now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are." John 17:9-11 NLT

"Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. John 17:13-15 NLT

"I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one---as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me...May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began." John 17:20-21, 23-24 NLT

Jesus Christ has prayed for us and prepared us to receive His love and to give His love. I pray this Advent season will be one of preparation for us all---preparing our hearts to show Jesus how much we love Him and the people He loves so much.

To God be the Glory! Amen.

God is Head Over Heels in Love with You

2010-11-15T20:39:00.000-08:00

May you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.       Ephesians 3:18-19a. NLT

The following is a passage by David G. Benner from his book, Surrender to Love, that speaks to knowing the fullness of God's love and understanding His love through meditation on His word, the Bible:

   Does it seem hard to believe that when God thinks of you, love swells in his heart and a smile comes to his face?
   If your identity does not rest on knowing yourself deeply loved by a God who is head-over-heels in love with you, spend some time prayerfully meditating on several passages. First, however, let me describe what I mean by meditation.
   Christian meditation is like spiritual daydreaming. Rather that analyzing or thinking about the passage, simply let yourself soak in it. There is no need to do anything with the words you read. Instead let them do something to you. Don't be preoccupied with examining what is happening. Just allow the words to turn over in your mind and wash over your heart.

Dr. Benner suggests meditating on Psalm 23, Psalm 91, and Romans 8:31-39, among others. I pray you will come to know the wondrous love of God for you.

To God be the Glory! Amen

Nothing is More Important

2010-11-05T07:42:00.000-07:00

John Stott as quoted by Siang Yang-Tan in Full Service

If only the veil could be taken away from our eyes, if only we could see Jesus in the fullness of His divine human person and His saving work, then we would see that He's worthy of our complete allegiance, our love, and our worship. Nothing is more important.

Loving Like Jesus Does

2010-11-04T19:49:00.000-07:00

I have often thought that the people who are hardest to love are those who need love the most. Lord Jesus, help me to love others like you love me.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not boastful or jealous or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT

Reaching the Heart of God

2010-10-19T20:50:00.000-07:00

Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Colossians 4:2 NIV

Today the heart of God is an open wound of love...He longs for our presence...And he is inviting you---and me---to come home, to come home where we belong, to come home for that which we were created...The key to this home, this heart of God, is prayer. From Richard Foster in Full Service by Siang-Yang Tan

Through the Day

2010-10-14T19:28:00.000-07:00

From: From the Heart by Helen Steiner Rice

I rise before dawn and cry for help; I
have put my hope in your word. My eyes
stay open through the watches of the night,
that I may meditate on your promises.
Psalm 119:147-148

I meet God in the morning
and go with Him through the day,
then in the stillness of the night
before sleep comes, I pray.

Jesus Came to Teach Poise

2010-08-09T14:10:00.000-07:00

from Jesus in Blue Jeans by Laurie Beth Jones

Poise is a red-winged blackbird balancing ever so lightly on a reed by the river... Jesus came to teach us poise---to make us ever mindful of our wings and God's clear open sky.

The Kingdom

2010-08-04T09:32:00.000-07:00

"But when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.'

Matthew 25:31-36 NLT

Christ the Beloved

2010-07-15T05:49:00.000-07:00

Place me like a seal over your heart,

like a seal on your arm;

for love is as strong as death,

its jealousy unyielding as the grave.

It burns like blazing fire,

like a mighty flame.

Many waters cannot quench love;

rivers cannot wash it away.

Song of Songs 8: 6-7 NIV

Christ's love for His people is stronger than death. He died for us. He lives again, for us.

Come, Lord Jesus, come!

The Heartbeat

2010-07-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

...And this is the secret: Christ lives in you.
Colossians 1:27 NLT

O Lord, Creator of heaven and earth
You are...
one whisper
one heartbeat
away.

O Lord, Creator of heaven and earth
You are...
the whisper
the heartbeat.

Come, Lord Jesus, come.