A few months back, I was walking on a horse trail, it’s set in a valley and runs behind some of our neighbors homes. Their backyards all slope down to the horse trail.
I love to be on that trail. So isolated, serene and remote. A true escape from reality. One yard caught my eye. The owner was standing at the top of her yard, looking down on her property. She was surveying it, making an assessment. I yelled up at her “Hey, you have a beautiful yard!” She laughed out loud. Her yard was covered with piles of dirt. UNDEVELOPED land was just screaming for attention. RATTY shrubs and REBELLIOUS brush had overgrown and entangled themselves in and amongst the trees. Weeds were tall and abundant. Overturned wheelbarrows and yard tools lay scattered about. This is why she laughed. From her perspective that yard was a FORGOTTEN DISASTER. Neglected for too long, it was out of control. This was a job for a clean up crew. She yelled back “Yeah, you’re right and we have some work to do”. I remembered this conversation as I saw her yard again today.
The weeds were gone, the dirt mounds removed, the ratty shrubs and rebellious brush were pulled out. And a beautiful stone retaining wall had been erected. The sloped yard was SECURE and PROTECTED. The wall was POSITIONED exactly where it was needed to allow a stable path from her home to the horse trail. It was a glorious work of art. Perfectly PLANNED. Noticed by everyone that walks by.
Forgive us God that we as the Church have a tendency to remain isolated, serene and remote when it comes to interacting with the lost.
Forgive us God that we as the Church like to live in the “escape from reality” mindset and ignore the ratty and rebellious people that are in desperate need of OUR showing the LOVE of Jesus to them.
Forgive us God that we as the Church are content with surveying and assessing the trends of Christianity in our culture and doing nothing about it. 1 John 3:18
Maybe it’s because we forgot that we have a beautiful life. In Jesus.
Maybe it’s because we forgot that we have some work to do. For Him.
Maybe it’s because we forgot that we really are UNDEVELOPED and have neglected for too long the power of the Holy Spirit. 1 John 2:20
Ask the landscaper of your destiny, Jesus, to remove ANY ratty, rebellious thing that has entangled itself in your heart.
Ask Him to yank out the tall and abundant weeds of despair that have taken over your life and outgrew your peace.
Ask Him to take away the mounds of dirt that have piled up in your mind and have darkened your thoughts.
You are NOT a forgotten disaster. Let Jesus be your clean up crew.
You are NOT out of control. God is in control. Let Him be.
You are SECURE and PROTECTED. Because of Him.
You have been given a stable path to walk on with a powerful message of grace to the world. Walk on it. Psalm 77:19
You are a glorious work of art. In His eyes. Psalm 139:13-18
You are perfectly planned. Psalm 40:5
And best of all…His glory is noticed in You by everyone that walks by. 2 Corinthians 3:18
PRAY FOR: Craig and Shelly will be hosting the Prayer Breakfast at the California Republican Convention in Sacramento this Sunday morning. Elected officials and leaders of all faiths will be present. Craig will be doing a presentation on “The Evangelical/Catholic Vote”. Shelly will be sharing a word and the gospel. Pray for lives to be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
PRAY FOR: New business for our company.
PRAY FOR: Radio/TV opportunity for Craig and Shelly to continue to inform and educate Californians about key issues.
Shelly Huey