Happy Tuesday! Colossians 2: 6,7 “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord as Lord, so walk ye in Him: Rooted and built up in Him.”

I have been telling you that I have been planting plants in pots. I still have much to learn, but I love the plants I have planted. I am learning which plants can take the heat and full sun, those that need just morning sun and those that need shade. I came home today only to find my pot of exotic New Guinea Impatiens wilted and sad. So I quickly put my things down and grabbed the water hose. I watered my plants including the Impatiens pot and in a little while it perked right up. It looked beautiful once again and full of life and beauty.

But I want to tell you something I learned as Lisa was helping me pot the plants. She taught me to loosen the roots so that they could spread out and receive water better. I noticed as I was planting how vast the root systems were in each plant. As I was preparing this lesson I began to think that plants must grow in two ways. First they must grow from the ground down, the roots, and from the ground up, the flowers and leaves. The deeper the roots, the stronger and taller the plant. The deeper the roots, the stronger the plant, the more the plant can withstand. As a novice planter of plants, I chose plants that were beautiful, flowery plants in colors I liked. I did not check the root system and see how deep the roots were. So, you guessed it, I lost some plants.

Isn’t this a lot like our spiritual lives? When we first come into relationship with Christ, it is often beautiful flowers, beautiful colors and pretty leaves. But once the excitement wears off our flowers begin to fade and our leaves begin drop off and when the first storm hits, our faith is often pounded just like a plant gets beaten up by a hard rain or hail. Why? Because we don’t have roots yet. God has planted His seeds of life in us, the good soil, but roots take a while to grow. How do we grow the roots of faith and flowers of joy? We feed the plant with only the best food possible. We read and study God’s Word, we practice an active prayer life, we worship the Father and we act in His name to help others.

When trees are cut down the story of their lives is told in the rings found in the bark. The stories of good weather, hard winters, disease and age tell the story of the life of the tree. If the tree is tall and strong then the roots are deep and firmly planted in the good soil.

What do the rings of our lives tell about our roots? Are our roots planted deep in good soil or are they planted in shallow ground where the storms will pound and uproot our faith? We have received Christ Jesus and He chose us. He chose us in which to plant Himself and grow Himself in us. Let us be rooted in God’s Word, born in His image and spend our lives growing in His likeness.

Take joy in the journey. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.