Today's Soul Food — April 17
 

April 17

"He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper." Psalm 1:3.

We have a purpose in life, for we are planted, not self-sown. We are not here by chance and change, but by choice and charge. And God has graciously planted us by His rivers of Living Water that we may draw our nourishment from the most fruitful source possible. We have been so carefully rooted by rivers of pardon and tenderness and His faithfulness and we have a never-failing Source of supply for our hunger and thirst.
It is up to us to drink from the Source, though. As that quaint cliché goes, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink." This applies to us, as well. We are here by God's choice and then He lets us have our own choice. But it must break His heart when we choose to drink from the broken cisterns and dirty reservoirs of life.

God assures us that whatever we put our hand to, it will succeed and endure, if we stay near the Waters that sustain. We may not think we are fruitful; indeed, we may feel that God is pruning us rather severely at times, for "He cuts off every branch...that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he trims clean so that it will be even more fruitful" John 15:2. "Such a tree withstands the buffeting of the winds and, flourishing, it blesses man, animals and birds with its unfailing fruit and shade."

"...He who reads, prays, and meditates, will ever see the work which God has given him to do; the power by which he is to perform it; and the times, places and opportunities for doing those things by which God can obtain most glory, his own soul most good, and his neighbor most edification." Adam Clarke.

His leaf, the Bible, shall not wither!


Pat Nordman ©

Today's Bible Question ?

Who was the prophet that predicted that Jeroboam would be king over ten tribes of Israel?

Previous question and Answer: Who was forbidden to mourn the death of his beautiful wife? Ezekiel (Ezekiel 24:16-18)

T H I N K A B O U T I T

Danny's Homework Why Danny believes in God (age 8) Written by Danny Dutton, age 8, from Chula Vista, California, for his third grade homework assignment to "Explain God". Read on... "One of God's main jobs is making people.  He makes them to replace the ones that die so there will be enough people to take care of things here on earth.  He doesn't make grown-ups, just babies.  I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way, He doesn't have to take up His valuable time teaching them to talk and walk, He can just leave that to mothers and fathers. God's second most important job is listening to prayers.  An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times besides bedtime.  God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV on account of this.  Since He hears everything, not only prayers, there must be a terrible lot of noise in His ears, unless He has thought of a way to turn it off.   God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere, which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting His time by going over your parent's head asking for something they said you couldn't have.  Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista.  At least there aren't any who come to our church. Jesus is God's Son.  He used to do all the hard work like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of Him preaching to them and they crucified Him.  But He was good and kind like His Father and He told His Father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said OK.   His Dad (God) appreciated everything that He had done and all His hard work on earth so He told Him He didn't have to go out on the road anymore.  He could stay in   heaven.  So He did.  And now He helps His Dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones He can take care of Himself without having to bother God.   Like a secretary, only more important, of course. You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to hear you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.   You should always go to Church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God.  Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach.  This is wrong!  And, besides, the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway.   If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can.  It is good to know He's around you when you're scared in the dark or when you can't swim very good and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.  But you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and He can take me back anytime He pleases.  And that's why I believe in God." Source:  Gary W. Tooz - Insights, Insults and Insanity

 

Today's  Devotion

Kickbacks from the Other Side by Cathy Vinson   "the faith and love that SPRING from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven" (Col 1:5)

Where does the blessings of love and faith that can come to us on a gloomy day originate? Jesus said, "I am going there to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2). Is it possible that the preparation presently happening explains for some of the packages of joy that come our way? "Reserved for you"...this describes "the inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade" (I Peter 1:4). This inheritance is guarded, kept, and given heed to. It is deeply touching to affirm in our hearts who it is that is giving heed to it. This hope "stored up for you" means that it is laid aside in the same way that long ago money was set aside in a napkin. The servant who secured his mere one talent did so by explaining, "I have laid it away in a piece of cloth" (Luke 19:20). However intangible things may seem on the other side, isn't it personally enriching to know we are touched by it today? Let's be happy to receive those deposits coming to us. By acknowledging their origin as possible feedback messages of another place may we ever grow rich in our hope and expectation of "if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am" (John 14:3) Send a note to Cathy Vinson © , the writer of this devotion.

Where does the blessings of love and faith that can come to us on a gloomy day originate?

More Whispers from the Wilderness

All the Rest April 17

Today in History April 17