Thought for May 8, 2024

•  1541 Hernando DeSoto discovers the Mississippi River
• 1792: George Vancouver sights and names Mt. Rainier
• 1835: Publication of first installment of "Fairy Tales" by Hans Christian Andersen
• 1877: First Westminster Dog Show
• 1886: Jacob's Pharmacy sells 1st Coca Cola
• 1902: Mt. Pele erupts on Martinique killing 30,000, 2 survivors
• 1912: Paramount Pictures founded
• 1973: Indians holding Wounded Knee surrender
• 1980: WHO announces smallpox eradicated
• 2018" President Trump pulls out of Iran nuclear deal
• 2019: Georgia Governor signs baby heartbeat abortion law.
• 2020: Two White house staffers test positive for Covid
• Born: Edward Gibbon ["Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire"], Harry Truman, Francis Quimet [US Open], David Attenborough, Don Rickles, Peter Benchley, Ricky Nelson, Toni Tennille, Stephen Furst [Flounder in "Animal House"], Bill Cowher, Ronnie Lott, Melissa Gilbert, Chris Sanders [Titans]
• Died: Kamehameha, John Stuart Mill, Gustave Flaubert, Paul Gauguin, LaVerne Andrews [Andrews Sisters], Eddy Arnold, Maurice Sendak

Thought:

Continuing to read Psalm 1 this morning. I know, I am slow. In verse 1-2, God has told us what not to do and what to do. In the remaining verses, He tells us the results of following His plan. 

Verse three tells us the results of delighting in His law and meditating on it day and night.

• A tree. Think about that. Read Isaiah 61:3 today. This is the passage that Jesus read announcing His ministry in Luke 4. His people will be called "oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that He may be glorified." Those that delight in His word and meditate on it will be His planting for His glory. 
• Firmly planted. We are planted firmly--unshakeable, secure through every storm of life. Deep roots that hold firm. Think about the times when heavy rains are followed or accompanied by strong winds--a tree is uprooted. What do you notice--shallow roots, not firmly planted. God plants for eternity.
• By living water. Not only firmly planted but planted with a never ending flow of living water. Turn over to Revelation 22--a river of water coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb. Planted beside that river is the tree of life. By delighting in His word and meditating on it constantly, we begin to experience the garden He has prepared for us. 
• Yielding fruit. Notice there in Revelation 22, the tree of life yields fruit in its season. Our lives here are to bear fruit that leads others to life. A few days ago, I was with a longtime friend. As I was leaving his house, he gave me an orange saying it was great and he thought I would like it. Reminded me that we have fruit in our lives that we offer to others hoping they will ask, what tree grew this fruit and we can say, the tree of life of the Living God.
• No withering. As I age, sometimes I think, I need to rest, stop, quit, relax--and none of that is bad, except quitting. The tree God is watering never withers--always producing fruit. And because it is firmly planted and well watered, the droughts of life do not make it wither. 
• Prospers. My mind thinks about true prosperity or what it means to prosper. We tend to associate prosperity with wealth--but it means flourishing and thriving. A person delighting in the word and meditating on it will flourish  and thrive despite the circumstances---the joy and peace are heavenly and the fruit grows even in dry seasons. 

I want to be that kind of tree. 

Blessings

Larry